'We weren't good enough to get the bonus point'

Despite losing to Sri Lanka with more than nine overs to spare on Friday night, Ross Taylor's boys could still afford to wear a smile.

Despite losing to Sri Lanka with more than nine overs to spare on Friday night, Ross Taylor's boys could still afford to wear a smile.

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The Kiwis had deprived the hosts of a bonus point, thus staying atop the points table with five points in their kitty.

Chasing a modest target of 193, Sri Lanka took five balls more than 40 overs to score the winning runs. That meant Kumar Sangakkara's men, who lost four wickets in the batting powerplay, had to be content with just four points.

At a venue that could be very deceptive for the side losing the toss, Taylor knew his side themselves a lot of good by having stretched the Sri Lankan innings beyond the 40-over mark.

"Losing and conceding the bonus point would have been very disappointing, losing all the momentum we generated in the last game. I guess it's still disappointing but I think you have to take some positives out of it," Taylor said after the match. "Not giving them the bonus point could save us for the rest of the tournament, you never know."

"When you get an opportunity to get the bonus, you need to take it. It could be a very important factor in Dambulla.”