Congratulations to Sri Lanka for the decisive manner in which they beat favourites India to win the ICC T20 World Cup on Sunday.
By becoming the fifth nation in five tournaments to win the event, they further confirmed T20’s reputation for competition and excitement. In addition, the final provided a fitting international farewell to the team’s two 36-year-old stalwarts Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara.
History was also made by the victorious women’s team Australia, who have now managed to win the T20 World Cup on three out of the four occasions it has been held.
For the home fans who have provided a passionate atmosphere throughout the tournament in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet, there are of course some mixed feelings. The Tigers performed disappointingly, while the Bangladesh women’s team put on a terrific performance to beat Sri Lanka in their last Group appearance.
All Bangladeshis can be proud of the positive impression created by stadiums being filled with enthusiastic cricket fans on television broadcasts to hundreds of millions around the world.
With open air big screens and flash mobs, adding to the atmosphere, it has been a highly enjoyable tournament. The tournament even received the accolade of a Google Doodle celebrating the T20 World Cup final date on the search engine’s home page.
Bangladesh’s successful hosting of a World Cup should encourage more events to the country and boost the case for having a Bangladeshi-owned franchise in the IPL. Most of all though, we hope it will inspire more people to take part in and excel at sports across the nation.
