What comes to your mind when you think about the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 final? MS Dhoni's finishing act? Sachin Tendulkar's early dismissal? Well, this Sri Lankan legend is reminded of his team's below-par performance on the big night in Mumbai.
World Cup-winning Sri Lankan skipper Arjuna Ranatunga wants the team's loss in the final to be investigated and he has said he will come up with the necessary proof against Kumar Sangakkara's team soon.
Notably, Sri Lanka made their way into the final after a comfortable five-wicket win over New Zealand in Colombo. However, ahead of the title match, Sangakkara made four changes to the squad and in-form spinners Rangana Herath and Ajanta Mendis were among the ones who lost their places in the line-up.
The Lankans rode on senior batsman Mahela Jayawardene's ton to post 274 on the board and had India in trouble when Lasith Malinga removed both the Indian openers -- Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag -- inside the first 10 overs.
However, Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir combined to stitch a 109-run stand, which helped India end their 27-year World Cup drought after Kapil Dev's men had defeated the West Indies to win the 1983 edition of the quadrennial tournament.
"Investigations should be done on the World Cup final where Sri Lanka lost to India.I was also in India at the time and I was heartbroken after the loss while I also had doubts about it. I will open up about all this very soon with proof," Ranatunga said, as quoted by the cricbuzz.
He added: "The ministers who are talking now need to make sure their actions speak louder than their words. The time has come now for these players to confess on what happened and investigations to be done."
Clash of the captains: Ranatunga vs Sangakkara
Ranatunga's comments came after he had a rift with Sangakkara over the recent performances of the Sri Lankan team, which saw the seventh-ranked side succumb to a humiliating loss to Zimbabwe in a five-match ODI series at home earlier this month.
The 53-year-old, reacting to the loss, blamed Sangakkara and Jayawardene for not grooming youngsters properly during the twilight of their careers, which according to the former captain lead to the horrid state of cricket in the country.
However, Sangakkara hit back saying the cricket administrator should be held accountable for not caring about players' safety during their infamous tour to Pakistan in 2009. Notably, gunmen opened fire at Sri Lankan cricket team bus in Lahore, leaving several players and umpires injured and six security personnel dead.
"They [administrators] didn't care about our safety during the 2009 tour of Pakistan. They didn't listen to our security concerns before this tour. It eventually ended with some of our guys being shot and some of them badly injured," Sangakkara said.
"I still have bruises on my body from those injuries including shrapnel from the shooting. I believe this is the ideal time to investigate if this tour was given the green light considering player safety," he added.
