Sri Lankan captain Marvan Atapattu described his side's 25-run win over India in the Asia Cup decider on Sunday as a fitting reward.
Atapattu was named man of the match after top scoring with 65 as India slumped to another major final defeat.
"We deserved to win because we were the best team in the tournament," he said.
"The boys had been working hard and this was just reward for their effort - it was not the easiest wicket to bat on but we took our chances and won."
But Sri Lanka's victory piled on the misery for India, who have now notched up 10 losses in their last 13 one-day finals under skipper Sourav Ganguly, including last year's World Cup defeat to Australia.
Their lone victory came in the NatWest Trophy against hosts England at Lord's in 2002, while two matches were rained off. Ganguly was naturally disappointed but refused to make any excuses for India's poor performance.
"We need to pick up in all areas," said Ganguly whose side slumped to 203-9 after being set 229 to win.
"We did not bat well, did not bowl well and did not field well.
"The team has to show commitment. We need to get our heads right.
"A total of 228 was always chase-able even though the wicket was slow. But we did not have many partnerships."
MMIX
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We did not bat well, did not bowl well and did not field well 
