Losing wickets at regular intervals was key, says Taylor

New Zealand's stand-in skipper Ross Taylor blamed the loss of wickets at regular intervals for his side's 112-run defeat against Sri Lanka in their concluding Group A World Cup tie on Friday.

"It was obviously a disappointing result. Sri Lanka played well. Kumar Sangakkara and (Mahela) Jayawardene led the way with the bat. We lost a bit during the middle stages. 260 wasn't a bad effort with the ball but we kept losing wickets at regular intervals," said the 27-year-old batsman.

"Sangakkara played very well. He paced his innings well and also utilized the batting Powerplay. His innings was definitely outstanding and laid a good platform for Sri Lanka," Taylor praised his counterpart.

He also said though there was not too much turn for the Lankan spinners, there was some variable bounce to take advantage of.

"We needed to have more wickets in hand. Jesse (Ryder) and I were playing well, but then we kept losing wickets. They bowled very well. There was not much turn but the bounce was a bit inconsistent and the ball skidded. There was more dew than expected," he said.

He wanted his teammates to remain positive despite the loss when they go into the knock-out phase for which New Zealand had already qualified before this match.

"Though the confidence does take a dip, but we played good cricket before that. We have to be positive. We have to train hard and hopefully won't make the same mistakes. Against Australia it was pace bowling and today it was spin," he added.

He also hoped team captain Daniel Vettori and Kyle Mills, who missed the tie because of injuries, would be fit for the quarterfinals.

"Dan is improving very well. Kyle is coming well as well. We have a couple of days to rest," he said.

Asked to comment on the controversy over Nathan McCullum's 'catch' off Mahela Jayawardene, which was turned down after TV replays by third umpire Amiesh Saheba, Taylor said though his teammate was confident that he had completed the catch the umpire felt otherwise. "It was a stunning catch. When you think you have taken a catch and it was a stunning catch, you are going to show natural aggression and disappointment (when it was turned down). There is nothing wrong with that," he remarked.

McCullum appealed for a caught and bowled when Jayawardene was on 26 and Lanka were 87 for 2 in the 24th over. The batsman went on to make 66 and also put on 145 runs with his skipper Sangakkara to turn the innings around after it was tottering at 19 for 2.