SydneY: Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara might not have got a fairytale ending to their final ODI match of their glorious careers but the veterans smiled through the disappointment as they fondly recounted their respective journeys.
The duo had already called time on their respective ODI careers before the 50-over showpiece event and it all ended on a bitterly disappointing note as Sri Lanka bowed out with a nine-wicket loss to South Africa in the quarterfinal here on Wednesday.
The 37-year-old Sangakkara, who has scored 14,234 runs in 404 ODIs, was the ninth wicket to fall in the Sri Lankan innings after the batsman stood witness to no-show by the the formidable Lankan batting order.
Jayawardene, who had already quit the longest format, now bows out of the international scene after a career that started in 1997. He leaves with 17,838 first-class runs to his name, 11,814 of them in 149 Test matches. He played 448 ODIs, accumulating 12,650 runs.
Jayawardene though hasn’t had the best of World Cups after managing just a solitary ton in the game against Afghanistan. But the elegant batsman has no regrets.
Sangakkara though ended on a high after scoring 541 runs in 7 matches of this edition and is still the highest run-scorer of the tournament so far. (PTI)
