TANGIERS, Aug 18: Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya refused to accept credit for his team’s 39-run triumph over Pakistan in the Morocco Cup despite scoring a quick-fire 97 to set up the win.

“We lost three wickets inside the first 15 overs which put us in deep trouble so we did very well as a team to recover from that,” Jayasuriya said after the match on Saturday.

“I was very disappointed when Marvan Atapattu was run out and then Kumar (Sangakkara) and Aravinda de Silva were dismissed quickly so it was a good effort to make 242.”

Jayasuriya’a knock from just 94 balls helped his team top the table, having won two of their three matches in the tournament which also involves South Africa.

The explosive left hander, who struck 12 fours and a six in his innings, also dismissed claims that pitches at the Tangiers Cricket Stadium are becoming difficult to bat on, especially in the second innings.

“There was nothing wrong with the pitch — it was a good pitch,” said Jayasuriya.

“Yousuf Youhana proved that the ball was still coming on to the bat when Pakistan batted but we bowled very well and restricted them.”

Youhana made 80 in Pakistan’s score of 203.—Reuters