Dubai: Shaking the gallery of the Dubai International Stadium and waving Lankan flags, there was no end to the protests in the city of Colombo. When Bhanuka Bhandara Rajapaksa was beaten by a lone batsman in his hometown of Colombo, the Lankan police were retaliating against the famous Pakistani bowling team. From a country that was sinking politically, economically, administratively and sportingly to nothing, the Sri Lankan cricket team marched to the throne of the continent in Perumchud, Dubai.
The crown that should have been crowned in front of her own people at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground on foreign soil had to be lifted due to internal problems. When the Sinhalese kingdom cricket representatives returned home after winning the tournament to be hosted by their own country, they wrote with love, ‘Here’s to you, our countrymen’. Jayasuriya, D’Silva, Muralidharan, Sangakkara and Chaminda Vas made their Sri Lanka debuts. None of them were on the top list of ICC rankings. The team was announced a week before the Asia Cup. When the senior players were injured, the team flew to Dubai with the youth team.
Arawa had lost nine of their last 11 games. In the first match against Afghanistan, the world believed that Lankan cricket had written a death knell in the Asia Cup after being bowled out for 105 runs. But, later he saw another Lankan. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan all stumbled and fell when Sinhalese courage failed. The Lankan team returns with the Asia Cup with six consecutive victories.
Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the opponents, they implemented the tactics woven by coach Christopher Silverhood and captain Dasun Shanaka on the field. The captain reveals that Lanka studied Chennai Super Kings, who batted first in last IPL final and won the title on the field where the toss was crucial.
All hope was against Lanka in the Kalasha War. Having lost the shot first, the top five returned for 58, conceding nine more overs before the first ball. Thus, Lanka defeated Pakistan by overcoming all adverse conditions with a brilliant performance. Disciplined fielding did not make a single mistake.
Rajapaksa, who resigned after former coach Mickey Arthur deemed him unfit, returned and played a royal innings against Pakistan, while Pacer Pramod Madhushan, who broke the Pakistan order, came out for the second match of his career today Sunday. This dream crown is also for the fencers who understood Pakistan’s weaknesses and stayed by the border.
