Journalism of Courage
India’s quest for a historic treble ended in heartbreak as a gutsy Sri Lanka produced a clinical display to win their maiden ICC World T20 trophy with a convincing six-wicket victory on Sunday (AP)
Sri Lanka thus became third time lucky in the World T20 summit clash while Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s dream to win a record third World title lay in tatters as his team faltered when it mattered the most (AP)
Despite Virat Kohli’s belligerent 77, Yuvraj Singh’s excruciatingly slow innings of 11 off 21 balls left India with a very modest score 130 for four in 20 overs. Kohli’s brilliance went down the drain due to Yuvraj’s struggle (AP)
Sri Lanka faced a few anxious moments in the early stages of the chase but eventually overhauled the target with 13 balls to spare (AP)
It turned out to be a ‘fitting finale’ for the two retiring legends of Sri Lankan cricket as Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara certainly made it a ‘farewell to remember’ as the champions ended their T20 careers with memorable triumph (AP)
Mahela’s 24 was a sweet little innings which set the tempo while Sangakkara anchored it to perfection with an unbeaten 52 (AP)
again proved to be a thorn in the flesh for the Indians as he chose the final of the tournament to claw his way back to form after indifferent first five matches (AP)
The match decisively swung in Sri Lanka’s favour in the 15th over in which Thisara Perera (17 no) chanced his arms to hit Amit Mishra over long-on while Sangakkara swept him fine to get a boundary. 15 runs came off that over and the match was as good as over by then (AP)
India though started their defence in right earnest when Kusal Perera (5) was removed in the second over by young Mohit (AP)
But lack of runs on the board didn't allow the 2007 champions to dictate terms in the middle (AP)
There were some moments were the MS Dhoni-led unit were on top, but it was a Sri Lanka show in the final (AP)
Dhoni tried everything. From giving the ball to Raina to holding Ashwin for the end. But it was one day where skipper's midas touch just didn't work (AP)
Earlier, Kohli struck his fourth half century of the tournament with yet another superb effort (AP)
Kohli struck five fours and four sixes in his 58-ball knock as Yuvraj turned out to be a complete disaster as he looked completely out of sorts which even frustrated the in-form batsman at the other end. The last four overs produced only 19 runs due to Yuvraj’s failure to get big hits (AP)
While Kohli peppered all parts of the field with his blazing blade, Yuvraj found it difficult to even pick up Sachithra Senanayeke’s ‘doosra’ and Lasith Malinga’s blockhole deliveries (AP)
