'It hides huge amount of sadness' - Kumar Sangakkara on his smile after losing WC 2011 final

It was one of the biggest matches of his career for Kumar Sangakkara. He was Sri Lanka’s captain in the World Cup 2011 and had led the team unbeaten until the final only to fall short. India chased down 275 thanks to MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir and it was the former’s winning six that sent the whole country into the frenzy. However, Sangakkara was seen smiling gently after the defeat and the picture of the same went viral.

Many praised the veteran cricketer for being gracious in defeat. Finally, after more than nine years, he has revealed the reason for his smile. Kumar Sangakkara stated that Sri Lanka, as a country, has faced a lot of issues and he has witnessed a lot of ups and downs. He also went on to say that the smile on the face just hides the disappointment while also ruing the missed opportunity to win the World Cup for the first time in 15 years.

“I think, in my life, living in Sri Lanka, there are lots of things that bring you down. There are lots of things that you worry about. 30 years we have had wars, we have had natural disasters in 2005. We have so many different issues but one of the greatest things about Sri Lankans is resilience. It is just inborn in us. When we play, we want to win, we are extremely competitive.

“Whether we win or lose, we have this equilibrium on how to take a win or loss. The smile hides a huge amount of sadness, of disappointment, of thinking of 20 million people back in Sri Lanka who had been waiting for this for so long, since 1996,” he said while speaking to Ravi Ashwin in an Instagram live session on Thursday.

Sri Lanka had lost their third chance to win the World Cup in four years then

Sri Lanka had lost their third final in four years then. They had qualified for the final of 2007 event as well and lost to Australia. In the T20 World Cup in 2009, Pakistan defeated them in the title clash and then they came second in 2011 as well. Kumar Sangakkara cited that it is important to understand that not everything goes your way and the only way to come out of it is start preparing for the next World Cup.

“We had an opportunity in 2011, opportunity in 2007, then T20 opportunities in 2009 and 2012. So sometimes, the best way to take victory or defeat is to understand that that’s the way life is. Not every single thing goes your way. But the important thing is to be able to take that the same way. No extreme highs or no extreme lows with emotions. That’s the way we kind of played our game. Not just me, but a lot of Sri Lankan cricketers.

“That was a case of thinking ‘well another one is gone. What can you do? You got to get ready for another final in 4 year’s time’,” the 42-year-old further added.