Dilshan thrilled with young team

Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka's stand-in captain, has said he is thrilled with the performances of youngsters like wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Chandimal and allrounder Jeewan Mendis, who were given an opportunity in the tri-series in Zimbabwe while senior players rested.

Sri Lanka entered the tournament without four of their senior-most players - Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Mahela Jayawardene and Sanath Jayasuriya - but that didn't stop them from lifting the title with a nine-wicket thumping of Zimbabwe in the final. "The young players got good opportunities here and they responded well," Dilshan said. "Dinesh Chandimal played well against India and Jeevan Mendis has bowled and batted well throughout the series."

Dilshan's team was dominant in the finals, starting with the new-ball bowlers, who stifled the Zimbabwe top order and dismissed Man of the Series Brendan Taylor cheaply. "I am really happy with the boys' performance today," Dilshan said, "especially the fast bowlers who set the tone by bowling really well in the first ten overs."

After a magical 2009, Dilshan had a fallow spell over the past few months but he was back at his fluent best in this tournament, topping the charts with 328 runs, with three half-centuries and an unbeaten 108 in the final. "I'm happy with my form, last 1-1.5 months I've struggled but I got my form back and want it carry it to the World Cup."

It was a disappointing day for Zimbabwe, but three victories in the league stage made it a week to remember for the hosts. "It is very satisfying to get where we have, the guys have worked hard," Taylor said. "It was unfortunate we didn't back it up in the final."