India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni blamed yesterday's defeat against Sri Lanka to being out of touch with the Twenty20 format.

"We don't play Twenty20 games, so suddenly if you play, this can happen," Dhoni said after the Twenty20 international at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha yesterday.

"At the same time, we did not play good cricket," added Dhoni.

Captain's knock
Sri Lanka scored 215 for five in 20 overs and in reply, India managed 186 for nine. Skipper Kumar Sangakkara was Lanka's star batsman, hitting a 37-ball 78.

"We tried our best. This is the smallest version of the game and we were not on target. Our performance was not good," said Dhoni.

The India skipper said he opted to chase considering that batting was his team's strength and the wicket was good. "We were not certain of our bowling department and since batting was our strength and the wicket was good, we opted to chase."

Dhoni again expressed disappointment at his bowlers' performance in the death overs. "For the last 18 months our death bowling has not been upto the mark," said Dhoni.