Jayawardene moved on from the agony of World Cup final defeat, says it’s in the past now

Jayawardene believes the Sri Lankans lost to a better team on that day.

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Mahela Jayawardene of Sri Lanka
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MUMBAI, INDIA – APRIL 02: Mahela Jayawardene of Sri Lanka reaches his century during the 2011 ICC World Cup Final between India and Sri Lanka at Wankhede Stadium on April 2, 2011 in Mumbai, India. (Photo by Hamish Blair/Getty Images)

On his day, six years ago, something remarkable happened to Indian Cricket. A spirited team, led by a marvelous captain, made through to the finals of the ICC World Cup 2011 hosted in Mumbai and faced the perennial challengers of world cricket, Sri Lanka.

Mahela Jayawardene stole the show in the first innings with a mesmerizing 103 of 88 deliveries. He found support from captain Sangakkara, Perera and Kulasekara. But the total of 274 turned out to be inadequate as opener Gambhir and captain Dhoni steered India to a comfortable victory.

While being reminiscent of the agony that night, Jayawardene stated “India was the better team on that day but it was six years ago and it’s in the past. A lot of things hurt in life. I have lost four (ICC tournament) finals out of five. We learn from every mishap that happens and move on with life. It hurt at that point, but after that, it’s just another game”

Jayawardene, who remained oblivious of the sixth anniversary of the feat, further recalled “I did not even remember it until I opened my Twitter account this morning. To be part of a World Cup final is always brilliant and to walk out at the Wankhede with 50,000 people screaming gives good memories” as quoted by Indian Express.

Mahela is currently working with the Mumbai Indian squad prior to the commencement of the tenth edition of IPL. Mahela was also aware of the injury and availability issues prevalent in the squad ahead of the tournament. Quoting the right-hander, “Mitch (Johnson) has played in the Big Bash (League) and Lasith (Malinga) is coming off after injury. We wanted him to play as much before coming here. He’s playing two T20s (Internationals against Bangladesh) which is good.”

Mahela also stressed the importance of management of player while combating the hectic schedule of the tournament. He added “We play our first eight games in 16 or 18 days, which includes travelling and the experience factor does count. They have played enough cricket and preparation-wise they will be fine. We need to make sure we manage everyone (vis a vis workload) properly.”

Jayawardene attended this year’s IPL auction, The MI officials failed to make a successful bid for the England all-rounder Ben Stokes, “We had a certain budget. He is a genuine all-rounder and he will do something special. But I am satisfied with the MI team..we have a healthy squad going into the first game. Coaching is a different role altogether. I would step back and allow the players to take over,” said the former Lankan skipper as per the quotes in The Hindu.

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