A dejected and tired-looking Indian cricket coach, Anshuman Gaekwad, stated in Mumbai that the poor showing by his team against Sri Lanka in the triangular series final at Sharjah on Sunday was the worst ever performance under his stint.

After the team's arrival in Mumbai in the early hours on Monday, Gaekwad, said "we were outplayed in all departments of the game by the superior Lankans and I probably think this was the worst performance by my team in the recent past".

"I have no excuses to make and we were clearly outplayed by the Lankans in this tournament", he added. "However, this (getting all out for 54) does not happen everyday and one must not look too deep into this performance as our boys played well here as well as in the ICC Knock-Out Tourney at Nairobi before succumbing to the pressure in the finals of both the tournaments", the former opening batsman said.

"The boys should not get discouraged with this performance and should take it as a learning process for the future tournaments.

"We have quite a few talented youngsters who are still learning the tricks of the trade and playing against tough opponents will help them mature fast", Gaekwad said. "The boys should leave this defeat behind them and concentrate on the one-off test series against Bangladesh at Dhaka which will also be my last assignment as the coach," Gaekwad added. Bureau Report