The punishing 161-run defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka was difficult to digest and a 8220;reality check8221; for his side,stand-in skipper Virat Kohli said as India suffered its second successive defeat in the cricket tri-series. Sri Lanka piled up 348 for one and then shot out the Indians for a paltry 187 in 44.5 overs. India are now in a position,where they need to win the remaining two games to qualify for the final.
8220;It was a reality check for us,we have to analyse what we did wrong. We have two more games to go. This is going to hurt the guys a little bit,8221; Kohli,leading the side in place of injured skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni,said.
India scored just 28 runs in the first 10 overs and lost opener Rohit Sharma. Asked about the need for sending a pinch-hitter while chasing the total,Kohli said,8221;The way we have been batting,I don8217;t think we needed to consider that option. It didn8217;t happen today.8221;
8220;It was a reality check for us,we have to analyse what we did wrong. We have two more games to go. This is going to hurt the guys a little bit.8221;
Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews praised the opening duo of Tharanga and Jayawardene for setting the platform for the victory with the 213 run opening stand. 8220;We needed that,especially after losing the toss,we
were on the back foot. Mahela showed his class. Upul struggled a bit initially but batted through and was brilliant later. 8220;We needed to get that 250,bowlers never let us down if we score 250. Hats off to Mahela and Upul. I am doing my bit the way I can,8221; he said.