Malinga gave away precious 54 runs off his four overs with Samuels hitting the sling-arm fast bowler for five towering sixes.
"We did not bowl particularly well in that last six, seven overs," Jayawardene said. "We never looked having any momentum chasing down that run rate as well, credit to them, they played good cricket in the big final which we did not."
Since that famous victory in the 1996 World Cup final, Sri Lanka just once shared the Champions Trophy with India in 2002. They came close to winning the 50-over World Cup, but twice they stumbled in the final — in 2007 and in 2011.
Pakistan also made sure a major trophy eluded Jayawardene when it beat Sri Lanka in the 2009 World Twenty20 final at Lord's.
"Every defeat has been different how we approached," a dejected looking Jayawardene said. "Couple of the finals obviously we did not start well .... and kept chasing the game."
Even on Sunday night, while chasing a trickier target on slow wicket, Sri Lanka lost its experienced opening batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan in the second over.
Kumar Sangakkara and Jayawardene tried to rebuild the innings, but their cautious approach kept the run-rate increasing which put the pressure on the home team.
"We wanted to attack obviously," Jayawardene said. "The first six overs were crucial for us ... but Dili got out off the first ball of the second over, that kept us back.
"They bowled very well, they took the pace of the ball...we never had momentum going in the chase, we lost wickets regularly so it was tough."
