Sangakkara laments absence of Umpire Decision Review System

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Mumbai, Dec 6 – After suffering a humiliating 0-2 loss in the Test series against India, Sri Lankan skipper Kumar lamented the absence of the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS), which he said cost Sri Lanka ‘over 500 runs’.

‘Not having the review system cost us over 500 runs and a lot of wickets. It always puts a lot of pressure on the inside. You’ve got to accept the fact that we were outbowled and outplayed but not to have the review system when every other side in the world is using it and when the ICC had said yes that all sides will be playing with it, it becomes an extra handicap. It cost us quite a huge amount of runs in this Test and the last one,’ said Sangakkara, after Sri Lanka lost the third and final Test against India by an innings and 24 runs at the Brabourne Stadium here Sunday.

It was Sri Lanka’s second consecutive defeat by an innings having lost the second Test in Kanpur by an innings and 144 runs after drawing the first Test in Kanpur.

Despite the loss, Sangakkara felt that Sri Lanka were a better side than what the score line indicated.

’2-0 is a realistic score line the way the Indians played and the way we played especially in the last two Test matches. But we are a better side than what the score line says,’ he said.

‘We got to accept the fact that if we don’t play well enough we are going to be placed in situations like these. We need to put big totals on the board but at the same time you’ve always got to find ways to bowl the opposition out under those totals. In this case in all three Test matches we were unable to do that,’ he said.

Sangakkara said that Sri Lanka were outperformed in all the departments and also failed to grab the chances that came their way at crucial times.

‘We were never able to continuously put pressure on the Indian batsmen. Our fast bowlers sometimes created chances but then onwards it was a tough graft. India was always ahead of the game when it came to their batting.’

Sangakkara also said that Sri Lanka’s bowling lacked firepower, but defended out-of-form spinner Muttiah Muralitharan pointing out the bowler’s inability to bowl with SG balls as the main reason.

‘It’s always tough when you cannot tie a batsman down for more than an over from one side it becomes very difficult to exert continuous pressure. It’s more the singles and stopping the singles and keeping batsmen on strike. If singles are going as well as the boundaries then you are in a bit of trouble. We tried as many fielding options as we could in the Tests but it didn’t work.’

On Muralitharan, Sangakkara said: ‘That (SG balls) handicapped him with the bounce and the amount of turn that he can expect off the pitch. That’s probably the main factor and (also) India are the best side in the world against spin. That’s the two main reasons why he hasn’t been successful.’