The President personally telephoned the Sri Lanka team in the Bangladesh capital, immediately after the final match last night.

It’s the second World Cup cricket title for Sri Lanka and the first in the Twenty20 version of the game.

Sri Lanka’s first World Cup success was 18 years ago when Arjuna Ranatunga’s team beat Australia by seven wickets in the ICC World Cup (50 overs) final played in Lahore, Pakistan on March 17, 1996.

Playing in his last T20 international inning, Sangakkara once again proved his mettle as a world class batsman to score 52 not out off 35 balls with one six and six boundaries.

It was a fitting tribute to two of the greatest batsmen that Sri Lanka has produced in world cricket - Jayawardene and Sangakkara who retired from T20 internationals after the tournament.

“Thus, Sri Lanka finally reached its cherished goal after losing four successive World Cup finals in recent times. “We finally managed to break the jinx”, Jayewardene was quoted as saying after their triumph.