Thisara Perera takes a step forward and slightly to the leg side, then slaps the ball over Ravichandran Ashwin’s head… It’s an image not many Sri Lankan fans will forget.
The left hander came into bat with Sri Lanka still ahead of the chase at 78/4, but things were really beginning to get tight. More so, because Sri Lanka had bungled a similar chase in the 2012 T20 World Cup final, with pretty much the same batting lineup.
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However, this time things were different. Kumar Sangakkara was determined not to let the nightmare of 2012 repeat. The left-hander stuck around, even as wickets fell around him and then he was joined by the hard-hitting Thisara Perera.
Perera eased the pressure with a six off Amit Mishra, Sanga joined the party and then, there was no looking back from Sri Lanka.
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Sangakkara brought up his 50 with a sweep to fine leg before Perera slapped the ball for 6 over the bowler’s head to end Sri Lanka’s misery in ICC tournament finals.
The Sri Lankan camp were in raptures, the party in Colombo went well into the night and most importantly, the team was able to give two of their favourite sons, Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene a winning farewell from the format.
