"The best death bowling that I have ever seen in my life"- Kumar Sangakkara reflects on Malinga and Kulasekara's spell in ICC T20 WC 2014 final
Kumar Sangakkara recalled his last T20I match on the seventh anniversary of Sri Lanka's maiden T20 World Cup triumph.
The wicketkeeper-batsman scored a match-winning fifty for his country in the 2014 T20 World Cup Final against India, but Sangakkara felt Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara played a crucial role in Sri Lanka's success.
Describing how the two Sri Lankan pacers restricted India to 130/4 in the first innings, Kumar Sangakkara said:
"The best death bowling that I have ever seen in my life; I have seen Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram bowl in the death, but the overs from Kulasekara and Lasith Malinga to two of the biggest hitters and two of the best finishers in the shorter version, I have never seen anything like that before or since. Twenty-four yorkers on the spot, ball after ball. Walking into the dressing room after that, we knew the momentum was with us."
India was 115/2 when Lasith Malinga came in to bowl the innings' 18th over. A well-settled Virat Kohli was with Yuvraj Singh in the middle then. While fans expected India to finish around the 150-mark, Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara conceded a mere 15 runs in the last three overs.
As Sangakkara mentioned, their execution was on the money, and it helped Sri Lanka become the T20 World Cup winners.
The 2014 ICC T20 World Cup in Bangladesh was very special: Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene will always be remembered as the legends of Sri Lankan cricket. Both batsmen played a vital role in the island nation's success for many years.
Both veterans decided to call it a day on their T20I careers after the 2014 T20 World Cup. The Sri Lankan team made the occasion more memorable by winning the World Cup. Sangakkara won the Man of the Match award in the final for his 35-ball 52*.
"The 2014 ICC T20 World Cup in Bangladesh was very special. I have said every tournament is special but this was much more so because it was going to be last T20 World Cup. It was going to be Mahela Jayawardene's last T20 World Cup. This was quite an emotional game for Mahela and myself because it was our last game in Sri Lankan colors in this particular format," Kumar Sangakkara stated.
Kumar Sangakkara also revealed that the team had prepared a special tribute video for him and Jayawardene ahead of the T20 World Cup Final. The clip motivated them further to perform their best on the field.