April 6 (IndiaToday) – India were unbeaten in the tournament and were looking favourites to win their 2nd T20 World Cup title as they took on Sri Lanka in the 2014 edition final in Dhaka on April 6.
The odds were in favour of India, given the splendid run MS Dhoni’s men enjoyed in the tournament. India opener their T20 World Cup 2014 campaign with a win against Pakistan and steamrolled the likes of Bangladesh, Australia and West Indies en-route to the knockout stages.
In the semi-final, India chased down 173 runs with ease against South Africa, thanks to a stroke-filled 72 (44 balls) from Virat Kohli who was slowly starting to play big-impact innings consistently for India.
In the final, Lasith Malinga won the toss and sent India into bat on what seemed a slow Dhaka wicket. India didn’t start well as they lost opener Ajinkya Rahane for 3 from 8 balls.
Rohit Sharma got a start but he was unable to convert it into a big knock as he was dismissed by Rangana Herath for 29.
Virat Kohli got going and took on the Sri Lankan attack. He looked like he was batting on a different surface altogether as he made 77 from just 58 balls, hitting 5 boundaries and 4 sixes.
Just when it looked like India would get somewhere around 150-160, Yuvraj Singh slowed down and put quite a lot of pressure on Virat Kohli. Yuvraj managed just 11 from 21 balls before he lost his wicket in the 19th over. MS Dhoni, who came in at the death, managed just 4 runs from 7 balls as India finished with 130 on the board.
A classy fifty from Kumar Sangakkara and a cameo from Thisara Perera made sure Sri Lanka chased down the total in just 17.5 overs. It was a perfect farewell for Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene as the two Sri Lanka legends retired from T20I cricket with the big title.
