$1 million bonus for Sri Lanka to win World T20 final

The Sri Lanka cricket team have been promised a million dollar bonus if they emerge champions in the World Twenty20 final on Sunday.

The announcement by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) came a day after they booked their place in the final after defeating reigning champions West Indies by 27 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method after the semifinal in Mirpur was hit by hailstorm.

“The Executive Committee of SLC which met at an emergency meeting this morning decided to offer $ 1.5 million (including the original fee of $500,000) to the national team players in the event that they win the final,” SLC said in a statement.

The Sri Lankan team have to shake off their reputation as chokers if they are to return home with the trophy from Bangladesh.

Sri Lanka - who will meet either South Africa or India in Sunday's final in Dhaka - were the beaten finalists last time round when they lost to the West Indies even though they were the tournament hosts.

They have also been beaten in the final of the last two 50 over World Cups, meaning they have not won a major trophy since their victory in the 1996 World Cup under skipper Arjuna Ranatunga.

Sri Lanka will now make their fifth final appearance in a global competition, having been beaten in the title showdown of the 50-over World Cup in 2007 and 2011 and at the World Twenty20 in 2009 and 2012.

West Indies captain Darren Sammy felt that batting greats Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, who are playing in their final Twenty20 tournament, were perhaps destined to taste World Cup glory at last.

"We know God normally answers our prayers but today I guess two gentlemen who have played for Sri Lanka, given a lot not only to Sri Lanka cricket but cricket as a whole, I guess the Almighty wants them to leave on a high," Sammy told reporters.

"They have one more game to try and win a World Cup. Probably that's the reason why God put His hand up in this match."

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