Dasun Shanaka leapt back to his feet and swung his hands ferociously in the air after lunging full-speed onto the crease and creating a cloud of dust. Soon, his colleague Bhanuka Rajapaksa leaped onto him after completing the double at the other end to advance Sri Lanka past India by six wickets and into the Asia Cup final. Their comrades quickly swarmed on top of them.
Nobody anticipated Sri Lanka would get this far. Prior to the competition, they had dropped 10 of their previous 14 T20 games. The world believed they would be easy pickings for the favourites after their poor performance against Afghanistan in the group game. India was one of them, and after suffering back-to-back losses in the Super Four leg, their chances of making it to the finals are bleak and out of their control. However, now is the time to rejoice in Sri Lanka’s spirit rather than lament the demise of titans.The Sri Lankan win had a nostalgic air to it, recalling the early 1990s Sri Lankans’ penchant for derailing carefully prepared plans and scripts and the famous David slays Goliath myth.
They had been awkward, ungainly, and clumsy throughout this battle, but when it mattered most, they shown a unique bravery. the same way they did with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and now India. They stopped hearts on their way to defeating India by six wickets, as is typical of them. In pursuit of 174, the start was forceful. Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana came to mind as Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis smashed 97 runs in 11.1 overs to create the foundation.