St. Lucia: After suffering a humiliating exit from the World T20 in the Super Eight stage for the second year in a row, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said his side failed to play to its potential.

Dhoni also made a reference to the Indian Premiere League (IPL), saying players need to manage their time better between playing, attending parties and travelling.

“Most of the players were fit and fresh. Players also need to be smart, not only about cricket, but other things going around in the IPL. You have to respect your body and give some time to it because more than playing matches, attending parties and travel can take a toll,” he said.

India needed to win by at least 20 runs against Sri Lanka but lost the Super Eights match by five wickets to crash out of the elite ICC event.

India looked set for big score, as they were 90 for one in 10 overs after electing to bat but they lost their way in the last 10 overs, managing just 73 runs for 4 wickets and finishing at 163 for five. With this loss, India ended up losing all their Super Eight matches.

“I think execution of plans from their bowlers was very good, even with set batsmen we couldn’t score freely. Overall, batting is our strength and we should have done better. We didn’t perform to our potential. The last 4-5 overs that they bowled really restricted us. We need to improve in quite a few areas,” Dhoni said after the match.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, virtually sealed a spot in the semi-finals and captain Kumar Sangakkara had nothing but praise for his bowlers.

“At the end, we were chasing at least 144. Even I thought India would make a very big score, but the guys came back really well at the back end to cut off the runs and to pick up wickets as well,” he said. “Dilshan really got the momentum back after the early wickets, and we have always talked about how good our young players are, and they showed that today. Whatever happens after this, we can rest assured we have done the best we can.”

Angelo Mathews, adjudged Man-of-the-Match for his crucial 46-run knock said, “I had to give a good performance with the bat, I’m glad I did it at the right time.”

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