Sangakkara pays highest tribute to Murali

Chris DHAMBARAGE

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara paid his highest tribute to World record holder Muttiah Muralitharn who signed off his international career at home during the ICC 2011 Cricket World Cup semifinal match against New Zealand at the R Premadasa Stadium on Tuesday.

“Murali is the icon of Sri Lanka. As a champion on the field and off the field as a human being and as a cricketer I don’t think there is anyone to match him. He is a fantastic performer he is a fantastic human being a very good friend and he is the ultimate team man. So you can’t ask for anything more”.

Sangakkara noted that his team is even more determined to give Muralitharan a great farewell in his last One Day International on Saturday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

“We are going to do our best. We do not really care who we meet in the final as long as we are there. Whoever comes into the final we will do our best give in everything we got and hopefully that will be enough”.

“It is crucial to understand that we have not won anything yet. We have only qualified for the final. We need to ensure that we work hard during the next two days and be fresh and hungry for the final”.

The Sri Lankan captain stated that the entire team was inspired and keen to give Muralitharan a fitting farewell in his last One Day International in front of his home fans by winning the semifinal clash.

“The pressure was building a bit and we lost three quick wickets which was unfortunate. We were cruising along at one stage but this was Murali’s last game and everyone was pumped up to make sure that we gave him a great send off from Sri Lanka and everyone did a great job”.

Sangakkara commended the performance of the bowlers as they restricted New Zealand for a total of less than 220 runs. “All credit to the bowlers we had a bit of a loose period in the middle but we managed to pull it back. A score which was heading towards 240 we managed to keep them for under 220 runs”.

“Our varieties are really great. Our fast bowlers and the spinners are performing well and with the kind of variety we have on night tracks it is difficult for the opposition to face”

The Sri Lankan captain also admired the all round performance of Tillekeratne Dilshan who led Sri Lanka’s run chase with a top score of 73 following his unbeaten century in the quarterfinal fixture against England at the same venue.

“He got this magic touch. Whatever he does on the field it seems to pay off for at crucial times and he has done wonders for us. He is really a smart bowler and he knows how to pick up wickets and curtail the runs”.