Sri Lankan veterans Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene will take to the field today against the West Indies in the first semi-final of the ICC World Twenty20 2014 at Mirpur knowing that it might be the last time they are playing a T20 international. Both Sangakkara and Jayawardene recently announced that they will retire from the shortest format of the game after the conclusion of the fifth edition of the ICC World T20.
Although the stalwarts have had a distinguished career, both had their share of heartbreaks in T20Is.
Sri Lanka displyed impressive performances on their way to the final in the second edition of the World T20 in 2009 only to come up short against the eventual winners Pakistan.
Three years later in their own backyard, the Lankans strode to the final in the fourth edition of the tournament before Marlon Samuels denied the hosts a memorable title-win.
Against the Windies today, the experienced Lankan duo will get another chance to book a final berth, besides also getting a golden opportunity of taking some sweet revenge for the final loss at home in 2012 against the same opposition.
Ahead of the much-anticipated, high-voltage semi-final, Sri Lanka coach Paul Farbrace paid tribute to the Sri Lankan legends.
‘They’ve never let their team or their country down. Their records show that they’re fantastic players. They’ve given so much to the team,’ Farbrace said on Wednesday.
‘Sanga’s a very dangerous player. He hasn’t had much opportunity in this competition but you always expect big things from him.
‘They play with huge expectations every time because of their records and what they’ve done for the country. Whether it’s their last competition or not in this form, they’ve been absolutely brilliant,’ he added.
-With New Age input
