DHAKA: As he walked towards the dais to collect his medal along with his team mates, Sri Lankan captain Lasith Malinga got a huge roar from the crowd. He said they were determined to win it for the retiring Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.
“I was really lucky to captain in the last three games. Today, we thought it was Sanga and Mahela’s farewell match. The boys thought we needed to do it for them,” Malinga said.
“The last few overs we bowled really well. Me, Kula (Nuwan Kulasekara) and Sachithra (Senanayake). Mahela and Sanga are world-class players and it was a good opportunity for us to be able to play with them. They are still playing Tests and ODIs and the younger players need to pick all that they can from the two. They are sharing their knowledge.”
Man-of-the-Match Sangakkara, who hit an unbeaten 52 off 35 balls, said it’s been a long time coming.
“It’s been a long time coming. Six years, five finals. I thank the side for coming all through to the final, didn’t do much before, so I am happy I was able to do something for our team.”
“It means a lot to all of us. We are very humbled by this. My family and playing for Sri Lanka are the two most important things in my life.”
For his 319 runs, Virat Kohli was named Man-of-the-Tournament, and he was gracious in defeat, preferring to congratulate the two Lankan greats at the outset.
Referring to West Indies skipper Darren Sammy’s comment about even the Almighty wanting Jayawardene and Sangakkara to finish their T20 international career on a high, Kohli said, “Darren was right, God was really smiling on them. But they deserved this, they played really well.”
Indian captain MS Dhoni attributed the team’s loss against Sri Lanka to his batsmen’s failure to convert the starts and the islanders’ “brilliant” bowling at the death.
“In the middle overs, our batsmen tried their best to get going, but we couldn’t convert the good start. Virat (Kohli) was the only one who could score but it was a little difficult for him also initially,” Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony. (PTI)
