It's dangerous to just drop names in match-fixing: Sangakkara

Reacting sharply to Hashan Tillakaratne's allegation that Sri Lankan players have been fixing matches since 1992, former captain Kumar Sangakkara said instead of throwing names around, the ex-player should work with the ICC's anti-corruption unit to rout out the menace if it is there.

Speaking in the post match media conference after his IPL side Deccan Chargers' 19-run loss to Chennai Super Kings here, the Deccan Chargers captain said, "Hashan has played the game for years and he's captained Sri Lanka as well. So it's interesting to see what he has to say and if he has anything more than allegations."

"It's dangerous to throw names around, he should work very closely with the ACSU of the ICC and the home authorities to ensure that something's done about it if there is any foundation to those claims but beyond that I don't think it makes any big sense to the players playing now."

About the defeat last night, Sangakkara said, "We had a few opportunities that went abegging, which was unfortunate. "The guys tried their best to take those chances, but unfortunately we couldn't take some of the catches that came to us. But that's the way the game goes, maybe 10 to 15 runs too many but we were in the chase right up to the 15th, 16th over, when we fell away."

Asked about the nature of the strip, Sangakkara said, "I think the wicket in the second half didn't turn as much as we thought it would. It was a bit on the slower side. It played much better than we thought it would." About the next few matches, his answer was "We have six games, we have to win about five of them to stay alive in this competition. It's a great challenge. We're playing well, but we have to convert that extra 10 or five percent to try and win a game."

Man of the match Albie Morkel said he was "very surprised" not to see compatriot Dale Steyn among his opposition. Steyn was one of the four players rested by Deccan.

"I think Dale and Ishant, in the last couple of games formed a formidable bowling pair and them not playing one of the world's best Test and One-day bowlers. But they have a couple of back-to-back games in Hyderabad, so maybe they're saving him for that."

Morkel was miffed when a scribe asked him as to whether he had been able to snap his "mediocre run with the bat."

u00a0"I think to use the word 'mediocre' is unfair. If you look at the position I bat in, I only get (about) four balls to face, so for me it's not about only myself. It's also about whether I can do one or two good things for the team and help them win."