Cape Town - Proteas skipper AB de Villiers cut a grim figure after his team were comprehensibly outplayed in the one-day series in Sri Lanka.
The hosts thrashed South Africa by 128 runs in Colombo on Wednesday to clinch a comprehensive 4-1 series rout.
Despite a gallant 51 from De Villiers, the Proteas were bundled out for a meagre 179 in pursuit a 308 victory target.
"It's very disappointing obviously," De Villiers told the Cape Times.
"It's difficult to be positive at these times, because the negatives seem to be popping up from everywhere.
"We gave it our best shot but, at times, it felt like we were playing against a team that was out of our league. We were definitely outplayed."
The skipper sounded a bit more upbeat when he said they would learn from this experience.
"It's not all doom and gloom, but there are some areas we need to look at and make some hard calls," concluded De Villiers.
The Proteas now shift their attention to a three-match T20 series, starting in Colombo on Friday.
The hosts thrashed South Africa by 128 runs in Colombo on Wednesday to clinch a comprehensive 4-1 series rout.
Despite a gallant 51 from De Villiers, the Proteas were bundled out for a meagre 179 in pursuit a 308 victory target.
"It's very disappointing obviously," De Villiers told the Cape Times.
"It's difficult to be positive at these times, because the negatives seem to be popping up from everywhere.
"We gave it our best shot but, at times, it felt like we were playing against a team that was out of our league. We were definitely outplayed."
The skipper sounded a bit more upbeat when he said they would learn from this experience.
"It's not all doom and gloom, but there are some areas we need to look at and make some hard calls," concluded De Villiers.
The Proteas now shift their attention to a three-match T20 series, starting in Colombo on Friday.