Record-Setting Sri Lanka End World T20 On High Note

by Terry Finisterre Former title holders Sri Lanka and associate nation The Netherlands met on Sunday evening at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Saint Lucia, the 38th Match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The game was a virtual dead rubber, with Sri Lanka unable to advance to the Super 8 round, and the hopes of The Flying Dutchmen hanging by the thinnest of threads. To move on from the group stages, in addition to beating Sri Lanka (and by a significant margin, at that), The Netherlands would also have needed Nepal to beat Bangladesh in St Vincent and the Grenadines. In the event, after a slow start, The Lions roared back to their best. Sri Lanka, once one of the most beloved teams in the limited overs versions of the game, ICC T20 champions exactly a decade ago, had come into this tournament brim full of anticipation. But the confidence instilled by their three series victories over Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh were all for naught come the World T20. They came into Sunday’s game winless from their three previous fixtures, albeit with their game against Nepal having been rained out. It looked like more of the same...