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Destiny did not deny the duo

Sakeb Subhan
When Thisara Perera hit the winning runs at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur last night and crowned Sri Lanka the World Twenty20 champions, the man at the other end was Kumar Sangakkara, who engineered the chase of 130 with a 35-ball 52. He basked in the glory'
that he and his great friend Mahela Jayawardene had a big hand in creating. It was rendered more special by the fact that it was possibly the last World Cup final that these two will play.
Cricket retirements have become a staggered affair nowadays. With three formats of the game being played now, there is the possibility of three goodbyes, which in a way dilutes the sentimentality of the decision. Seen another way the first such announcement is a poignant reminder of the impermanence of even the brightest stars, a promise of an end that is drawn out and therefore sadder somehow.
TheT20 format, the global tournament of which has decked up the days and lit up the nights of Bangladesh over the past three weeks, is usually the first to lose aging cricketers. This trend may be why Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka's great champion, professed at the start of the tournament not to have been unduly saddened by his decision to retire from the format after the World Twenty20. It was a 'natural progression', he said. More of that nature followed soon when his great mate and fellow legend in the Sri Lankan ranks Mahela Jayawardene announced his intention to do the same.
Sri Lanka are a relatively young team in international cricket and an epochal moment in their history was the 1996 World Cup triumph. The architects of that result were die Napoleonic initiative of Arjuna Ranatunga, the genius of Muttiah Muralidaran and Aravinda de Silva, the buccaneering spirit of Sanath Jayasuriya and the efficiency of Chaminda Vaas. But in the following decade or so, all of these luminaries left die scene.
There were only two to take their places; Jayawardene came in as a precocious talent in 1997 and Sangakkara, although only five months younger than Jayawardene, came in three years later. But slowly and surely the two became the fulcrum of Sri Lanka's growth in the post-1996 years as old stars faded away and new ones struggled to find their feet. They were the two -along with the bowling duo of Muralidaran and Vaas who were the longest lasting of the '96 heroes - who were the assurance of quality in a Sri Lanka line-up often in flux.
It would not do here to dwell upon their batsmanship because there is more yet to come; that will be the hope not just in Sri Lanka but in the cricketing world as a whole. As Sri Lanka faces the first tolling of the bell for two of their greatest, it is a good time to remember
what they meant to the team which they have just begun to say goodbye to with yesterday's glorious triumph.
Both have been captain of the side for significant stretches and so have shaped the direction and careers of new T20 world champions. Both have, once ensconced, relinquished their captaincy of their own accord for the greater interests of the team or because they felt that they could not lead to the best of their abilities. And both, in the twilight of their careers, have fallen seamlessly into rank and file under captains who are much younger and less experienced. It is a rare example, especially in a region where all boards are locked in political one-upmanship and many players have been known to cling to captaincy or a place on the national squad. The example they have set is one of security and belief in their own abilities without the need for titles, and given the political atmosphere in the cricketing circles in Sri Lanka, that is a valuable example indeed.
Being such torchbearers for cricket in their country' it was unjust that the two, who had led Sri Lanka to no less than four global finals, to end without a trophy to their name. It was the will to right this wrong that may have driven Sri Lanka to the final through some shaky situations - not least being dismissed for 119 by New Zealand in their last group game. Once there however, it was all there for the wily old foxes to do. Jayawardene did his part with a run-a-ball 24 but it was Sangakkara who, after a torrid tournament came to the party one last time for his side, and this time won it.