ICC T20 World Cup 2014: Sri Lanka Win by 6 Wickets in Dhaka — Kumar Sangakkara's 52* Off 35 Beats India

Sri Lanka won the ICC T20 World Cup 2014 on 6 April 2014 at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh, defeating India by 6 wickets with 13 balls remaining. India scored 130/4 in 20 overs; Sri Lanka chased 134/4 in 17.5 overs. Kumar Sangakkara scored 52* off 35 balls as Player of the Match. Lasith Malinga captained Sri Lanka; MS Dhoni captained India. Virat Kohli won Player of the Tournament with 242 runs at an average of 121 across the competition — despite India losing the final.

Kumar Sangakkara 52* Off 35: The Chase That Won Sri Lanka Their First T20 World Cup

Kumar Sangakkara's 52* off 35 balls — the Player of the Match innings that anchored Sri Lanka's 6-wicket chase of India's 130/4 — gave the 2014 T20 World Cup final its defining batting contribution. Sangakkara, Sri Lanka's left-handed wicketkeeper-batter who had become one of cricket's most celebrated batsmen across all formats, batting in one of his final T20 World Cup campaigns, produced the composed chase-building innings that Sri Lanka's 134/4 reflected — never in crisis after the first wickets fell, with Sangakkara's unbeaten 52 carrying the chase home with 13 balls unused. Sri Lanka completing the chase at 134/4 in Dhaka's conditions — where Bangladesh had prepared pitches that favoured spin — with 6 wickets in hand reflected the batting quality that Sangakkara's anchor innings provided throughout.

Virat Kohli 242 Runs: Player of the Tournament from the Losing Team

Virat Kohli winning Player of the Tournament in the 2014 ICC T20 World Cup with 242 runs at an average of 121 — including 72* in the semi-final against South Africa — from the losing finalist team gave the tournament's individual award to the player whose sustained batting quality across five matches was unmatched by any player who won the final. Kohli's 72* against South Africa in the semi-final was the defining knock of his 2014 T20 WC campaign; his contributions across the tournament made him the clear standout individual performer. India losing the final to Sri Lanka despite Kohli's 242-run tournament — and with MS Dhoni's team posting only 130/4 in the championship match — reflected how individual batting excellence in knockout-round cricket can coexist with a team's inability to perform on the single match that decides the title.

ICC T20 World Cup 2014 in Context

The ICC T20 World Cup 2014 — held in Bangladesh — was the fifth edition of the competition. Sri Lanka winning in Dhaka against India continued the pattern of Asian teams dominating the T20 World Cup: India (2007), Pakistan (2009), West Indies (2012, playing in Asia), England (2010, the only non-Asian team to win in the competition's first eight editions), and now Sri Lanka (2014). India losing the 2014 T20 World Cup final to Sri Lanka at Dhaka — MS Dhoni's team posting 130/4, Sangakkara's 52* completing the Sri Lanka chase — gave the final one of the most straightforward trophies in ICC T20 World Cup history, Sri Lanka's 6-wicket win reflecting a team that had combined better across all stages of the tournament than their Indian opponents could produce in the championship match.