I feel sorry for Indians, says Sangakkara

Guyana, Georgetown, Mar 28 (UNI) After his team slammed the door hard on India's world cup hopes, Kumar Sangakkara has developed a soft corner for the Indian cricketers and the dashing Sri Lankan wicketkeeper is now ''feeling sorry'' for the down and out Men-in-Blue.

''To be honest, I feel sorry for India's cricketers. They'll now face a torrent of criticism and abuse in the coming weeks,'' Sangakkara wrote in a column for Cricinfo.

''Fanatical fans will no doubt be burning effigies as I write.

The huge expectation places their players under enormous pressure.

And when that expectation is raised a degree or two, it can easily have a crippling effect,'' he wrote.

Sri Lanka defeated India by 69 runs in a crucial Group B tie on March 23 thus effectively putting to rest their hopes of advancing into the next round.

He said India's early exit has taken a bit of the sheen off the extravaganza and their absence would be missed sorely.

''It does, though, seem strange to be starting the Super Eights without India, our Asian neighbours and the global powerhouse of the game. It leaves the tournament with a strange emptiness.

''India's unbelievable passion for the game always ensures an occasion whenever they take the field. One billion fans and a clutch of high-paying sponsors are naturally bitterly disappointed.'' He said while his team was determined to adavnce to the next stage with two points, the Indians were under tremendous pressure as they were playing to stay in hunt.

''The Indians looked under pressure and their body language betrayed their edginess. This is completely understandable, of course,'' he said.

He also questioned Rahul Dravid's decision to chase in a crunch game and said it was a blessing in disguise for the Lankans.

''Should a team like India really chase in such a crunch game? It's always a tough ask with one eye on the run rate. You have to be a really hardened batting unit to pull it off and batting first may have been a blessing for us.'' He said Sachin Tendulkar's scalp was the turing point of the game while Yuvraj Singh's run out sealed the issue for them.

''His (Sachin's) loss was a huge blow for the Indian dressing room, sapping them of precious team-belief. That was a major turning point.

''Dravid was still there but he is a holding player, good at working the ball around and gluing the chase together in partnership with some of the middle-order strokemakers. Thus the run out of Yuvraj [Singh], a very dangerous player and a perfect counterfoil for Dravid, was another turning point.'' He said false sense of confidence with several home win under their belt did India in.

''This was perhaps the first big 'crunch' game under coach Greg Chappell. They came into the tournament with some confidence-boosting home wins under their belt. The morale must have been high.

''But such victories count for little in one-day cricket when you turn-up for big matches in big tournaments. India at home and India overseas are two different teams.'' UNI