Aug. 26: Virender Sehwag’s whirlwind knock of 110 (93 balls, 16x4, 1x6) in India’s 105-run win over New Zealand in the tri-series earned him a “special award” from the hotel staff in Dambulla.
On Wednesday night, the hotel staff presented the Delhi dasher with an elephant carved in wood, with a cricket bat on its side. “Man of the match from hotel guys... Very sweet people,” Sehwag posted on his Twitter page on the day.
“It has been a tradition of our resort Heritance Kanadalama — where Team India are staying — to felicitate the man of the match in the current Micromax Cup tri-nation tournament,” said Jeewaka Weerakoon, the resort’s general manager from Dambulla.
“When the players return from the ground, the resort’s manager on duty escorts the MoM winner to his room. “We have different gifts for different winners. We have gifted Sehwag with an elephant (carved in wood) and a mini-bat,” he said. “Our country has a close relationship with this animal. In Lanka, an elephant is considered a good omen,” he added.