God probably wants Sangakkara and Mahela to leave on a high - says Darren Sammy after semifinal loss

Darren Sammy said that probably Sangakkara and Mahela are destined to win World T20

West Indies captain Darren Sammy expressed disappointment after his team lost the semifinals of the ICC World T20 to Sri Lanka in a rain-curtailed match but also heaped praise on Sri Lankan batting legends Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.

West Indies were 80-4 after 13.5 overs when a heavy hailstorm descended on the ground which meant that no further play was possible. Sri Lanka were ahead by 27 runs according to the Duckworth-Lewis method after having earlier set a target of 161 for the defending champions to chase down.

“It’s disappointing to come out of the tournament like this, but credit to Sri Lanka. We have had a good run in the tournament, and it’s sad we got knocked out because of D/L. That’s life, but we got to move on and plan for the next tournament,” Sammy said after the game.

Sammy also went on to praise Sangakkara and Jayawardene and suggested that maybe it was in their destiny to lift the ICC World T20 trophy in their last tournament in the format. Both Sangakkara and Jayawardene had announced earlier that they will be retiring from T20 Internationals after the World Cup.

Sammy said, “God usually answers our prayers. But Sri Lanka have two gentlemen (Jayawardene and Sangakkara) who have done a lot for Sri Lankan cricket and world cricket. God probably wants them to leave on a high.”

Sammy also refused to blame his openers for the slow start during the chase. Chris Gayle made just 3 runs in 13 balls while Dwayne Smith scored 17 off 14 balls as the West Indies managed only 30 runs for the loss 2 wickets in the powerplay overs.

“Gayle and Smith have a clear idea on how they want to play. We started very well, but their off-spinner (Senanayake) bowled very well to Gayle and Smith. From there on, we were behind the eight ball. But with the remaining batting, anything could have been possible,” Sammy said.

Man of the Match Angelo Mathews said, “It would have been great if we had played the full 20 overs and would have been great if we had a close game as well. But I am really happy that we are in the final. After the first half we got to know that there was a chance of rain, but we didn’t play to that. We knew they had some big hitters. Lasith then made those two strikes to get us back in the game.”