Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara was unsurprisingly full of praise for his team after they wrapped up their first ever series victory on Australian soil with a 29-run win in the second one-dayer at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
"There's a lot to be taken out of the way we played these games," he said. "It's fantastic. We played the way we believed we could coming here. It was just a case of us fighting to convert every opportunity and tonight I thought it was a great all-round performance."
The last time Sri Lanka were in Australia, in 2007-08, they were beaten 2-0 in the Test series and failed to reach the final of the CB series, which also included India. This time, they met an Australian side struggling for form, having lost five consecutive games across all formats going into this series. But Sangakkara insisted that Australia's struggles didn't take the gloss off a maiden series win down under.
"It means a lot," he said. "This is a stage we always wanted to get to where everyone does what is asked of them and you can't ask any more of the players. They have grown in stature and self-belief. Sri Lankan cricket seems to be in really good hands going forward."
While Sri Lanka's new generation of players, such as opening batsman Upul Tharanga and allrounders Thisara Perera and Angelo Mathews, played a major role in the team's victory, Sangakkara also made special mention of Muttiah Muralitharan, who is on his final tour of the country.
"What more can he do?" Sangakkara said of Muralitharan. "To win the series in Australia on his last tour here. We are thankful to have a champion like him in the side."
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