Colombo: Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews blamed their batting failure as the hosts slumped to a 117-run loss in the third and final Test of the series that India won 2-1 at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) ground here on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka conceded a 101-run lead to India’s first innings score of 312. And latter in the fourth innings, the islanders were bowled out for 268 chasing a target of 386.

“Disappointed (after losing the game), especially after winning a crucial toss and them batting in demanding conditions. Our batting flopped again. The bowlers did a good job throughout the match, but we weren’t really up to the mark with the bat,” regretted Mathews at the post-match presentation ceremony.

“We could have kept them under 300 in the first innings. The bowlers bowled pretty well, but India batted well. Our first innings batting was crucial, we needed to get close to 300,” he added.

The 28-year-old then said that if he and Kusal Perera — who had put on a partnership of 135 runs for the sixth wicket in the second innings — could have carried on a little longer, the result could have been quite different.

“Thought if me and Kusal could have stayed there longer, it could have been different. But they bowled really well and are the deserved winners,” he said.