PHOTO: AP

MEN IN BLUES: Distraught Indian team members watch the last pair at the wicket during the Group B World Cup match against Sri Lanka on Friday. Rahul Dravid's men lost the match by 69 runs. Unless Bermuda pulls off an improbable win against Bangladesh on Sunday, India's World Cup campaign will come to a premature end.

Port of Spain: The captain of the Indian cricket team Rahul Dravid will be criticised for many things — some with good reason — but the man deserves credit for dealing with a roomful of irate journalists with honesty and courtesy after India's loss to Sri Lanka in the World Cup on Friday. Unless Bermuda beats Bangladesh on Sunday, India faces an early exit from the competition.

Asked a touch patronisingly if he realised the enormity of the loss, Dravid replied, "No one realises the enormity more than the players. I know you all feel bad and people back home will feel bad, but no one feels as bad as the players themselves. A lot of our dreams and hopes were based around this competition, the biggest one-day event."

"We do take the responsibility," Dravid added. "I am not shirking it, I am the first one to stand up and take responsibility. We didn't do well, and I take full responsibility for us not progressing to the next stage. We were not up to scratch, and we didn't deserve to go through to the next stage."

He said the batting had failed the side. "We have not batted to our potential. Batting is our strength, we picked the best batting line-up for the conditions, the best batting line-up in India, and we just didn't fire. What was in our control, we didn't do well enough."

How did he compare India's performance in the last World Cup where it reached the final to its performance in this edition? "The manner in which this tournament is scheduled is such that one banana-skin day early sets you back," said Dravid. "In the last World Cup, we had enough games in the league stage to bounce back. This time, we didn't have the luxury of as many games." Dravid said the loss was among the most disappointing he has been involved in. "The best plans and ideas don't always work out. This was my third World Cup, and we have done well as a team in only one. If you were writing a fairytale, you wouldn't write it this way. But you don't always get to write it the way you want to — that is both the beauty and cruelty of international sport."

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