India's captain and coach pinpointed bad batting and low confidence as the reasons for their lack of wins in the triangular series here on Tuesday.
India won just two of the five matches they played in the tournament and lost Tuesday's final by 18 runs after collapsing from 186-2 to 229-8 in the face of fine spin bowling and electric fielding from Sri Lanka.
- India vs Sri Lanka: Report | Scorecard | Images
"With 112 required from 108 balls with eight wickets in hand I thought we were in a position where we should have won the game," coach Greg Chappell told reporters afterwards.
"Sri Lanka bowled and fielded very well and were committed right throughout the series - they deserved the win.
"The bowlers fought back well and in the end restricting them to 281-9 was a good effort I thought as they were heading for more than 300.
"But Sri Lanka applied the pressure in the field and what it boils down to is that we lost wickets at vital times.
"Sometimes you can get a team with a little bit more confidence and that can be the difference - I just think the Indian team is a little down in confidence at the moment.
"I think there have been a number of positives -- the bowlers have improved throughout the tournament and our energy and effort in the field improved," said Chappell.
"We would have probably have said before the series that our batting was our strength but it has cost us dearly," he added.
Rahul Dravid agreed that his team lacked Sri Lanka's confidence and identified his run out for 69 as key.
"My run out and Yuvraj's dismissal in quick succession was probably the turning point as we needed to carry on for at least another six overs or so to set a really good platform for the middle order," Dravid told journalists.
"We have to give credit to them - Chandana and Murali bowled really well," he added."
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