I’m truly satisfied to help my country, says SL’s Siriwardena

Melbourne, March 2 (SocialNews.XYZ) Sri Lanka's Shashikala Siriwardena on Monday said she couldn't have imagined a more satisfying end to her career than taking four wickets to steer her team to their first Women's T20 World Cup win.

Siriwardena, who has called time on her 17-year career following her country's exit from the tournament, produced the ideal swansong as her four for 16 set Sri Lanka well on their way to a nine-wicket victory over Bangladesh at the Junction Oval.

Seeing their former captain pick up the Player of the Match award was an emotional moment for Sri Lanka after their first win, but Siriwardena said the key to her match-winning performance was treating it like any other game.

"From the beginning of the day it was very hard as I knew I was playing my last game," said Siriwardena.

"I was kind of nervous knowing I would be wearing national colours for the last time. It was pretty emotional, but I told myself it wasn't the time to get emotional.

"I knew my contribution would be important so I told myself to not think about my retirement until the match ended. I really love to perform, but the main thing was getting the win for the team.

"We knew we couldn't go without a win. We knew we had the skill and the potential to be in the top four.

"I'm truly satisfied that I did something to help my country. I'll miss being with these girls. I have spent more time with this team than with my family," she added.

The 35-year-old played 118 ODIs and 77 T20Is in which she scored 3,577 and 1,499 runs respectively besides picking up 124 and 70 wickets in the two formats.

Source: IANS