CHENNAI, Aug 10: Indian coach Greg Chappell on Wednesday blamed batsmen for team’s defeat against Sri Lanka in tri-series final against Sri Lanka but said the situation did not warrant drastic changes.

“We did not make enough runs. Sri Lankans paced everything well. They batted, fielded and bowled well. We learnt something from them,” he said on return from Colombo.

“As I said earlier on, both bowling and fielding were fairly consistent but batting needs to be improved. We did the best that we could do but it was not good enough. Sri Lankans played very well. We could have easily beaten them in two out of three games, we did not. We’ve got some things to work on.”

Asked whether present lot could last till 2007 World Cup, Chappell said, “I do not know how many will remain in the team. I have no idea. But they could be motivated into a winning combination. I do not know when it will happen but they have potential.”

Asked if Indian players have a tendency to wilt under pressure, he said, “I do not know. I have not found out that as yet”.

On why India failed to beat Lanka even though a second string West Indies side managed a win against them, he said “they (West Indies) could not beat India even once.

“What do you have to say for that. Well, I agree that they almost came close to beating India. West Indies is an emerging side with some potential players. Maybe in six months time, they will be quite a good team.” —PPI