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Kumar Sangakkra heaps praise on bowlers after Sri Lanka’s win over India in ICC World T20 2014 final

When India were batting, they were allowed to score only 19 runs in the last four overs.

Kumar Sangakkara bowled out from T20 cricket after a memorable win © Getty Images
Kumar Sangakkara bowled out from T20 cricket after a memorable win © Getty Images

 

Mirpur: Apr 6, 2014

 

Kumar Sangakkara appreciated the role of his bowlers in the victory against India in the final of the ICC World T20 2014 in Mirpur. When India were batting, they were allowed to score only 19 runs in the last four overs and that turned the tide completely in Sri Lanka’s favour. Sangakkara then came on and knocked the runs off quite easily to walk away with the man of the match.

 

Speaking to reporters after the game, Sangakkara said, “Those last four overs were immaculate. I haven’t seen four overs like that bowled to a guy on 70 something off 50 balls and MS Dhoni, who can hit any ball out of the park. For them not to get bat onto ball for four overs just goes to show the quality of our bowling attack and the hard work and the planning we have done before this game and how we executed that. So, I think that really setup the win. Chasing 130, we would take it any day, but to restrict a side like that, we needed something special and our bowlers have done that.”

 

Sri Lanka have lost four previous World Cup finals and Sangakkara has been a part of all four sides. He was asked if emotions got the better of him anytime. Sangakkra then said, “Not till the end. I am a great believer that if you get emotional, you’ve got to use it to your advantage. If not, they forget about being emotional.”

 

“When we had to only get about 11 runs and I top-edged a boundary, seven to get! I knew it was just a couple of shots away and with Thisara [Perera] on the other side, it was a boundary. That’s when I really thought I could show some emotion. When you get to the final stages, you really got to stay in the game and not relax, you have to concentrate to get over the line. That was exactly what happened today,” said Sangakkara after the victory.

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