On April 6, 2014, Sri Lanka defeated India in the final of the ICC World T20 in Dhaka. After losing the finals of four global events since their 1996 ODI World Cup triumph, the islanders put in a dominating performance to break the duck and their second world title.
Asked to bat first, India simply weren’t allowed to get going by the Sri Lankan bowlers. Barring a gritty 77 by Virat Kohli and a 26-ball 29 by Rohit Sharma, the Indian batsmen failed to make a mark and stuttered their way to 130/4 in 20 overs.
Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath returned with figures of 1/23 from four overs but it was a collective bowling effort by Sri Lanka that restricted India to a low total.
In reply, Sri Lanka lost Kusal Perera with just five runs on the board but that was the only real setback they faced. Kumar Sangakkara played an unbeaten knock of 52 runs off 35 balls and Thisara Perera remained not out on 23 off 14 balls to help their team earn a six-wicket win with 13 balls to spare.
This victory was even more special for Sri Lankan cricket fans as it marked the end of Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene’s T20I career.
Watch highlights of that match here:
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