it’s do-or-die now - Sanga

Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara said it was their variety in bowling that gave them a confidence-building 112-run win over New Zealand in their last Group A match of the World Cup here Friday.

New Zealand batsmen struggled to play the spin of Muttiah Muralitharan (4-25) and Ajantha Mendis (2-24) and were bowled out for 153 runs in 35 overs, chasing 266 at the Wankhede Stadium.

‘New Zealand are always a very competitive and balanced side. We never take them lightly. But they found the variation in our bowling troublesome and we tried to maximize on that. They found it difficult to play against Mendis, Murali and (Lasith) Malinga,’ Sangakkara said.

‘It is always good to win for our confidence. But the real test is the quarterfinal. We have to keep working hard. The format is such that it is now do-or-die. In previous formats, teams with consistent performances would win.’

On the tiff between Mahela Jayawardene and Nathan McCullum over a catch, Sangakkara said Jayawardene, is a player, who would have walked off if he was sure that the catch was clean.

‘Mahela was very honest and he said he was not sure he caught it cleanly. Mahela is someone, who walks when he nicks it. He wasn’t very sure and umpires weren’t sure so they checked with the technology and it went in favour of Mahela. That’s the way the game is played. We had Brendon McCullum stand his ground when Mahela took that catch and they went upstairs and it was proved that it was a clean catch. So it can go either way,’ he said.

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