Sri Lanka, a country picking up pieces after months of anti-government protests while facing enormous financial turbulence, found 11 worthy heroes on a cricket pitch as Dasun Shanaka’s unheralded bunch crushed Pakistan by 23 runs to win their sixth Asia Cup title in Dubai on Sunday.
It was a victory that was just not about cricket but way beyond that with much deeper historical and political importance.
It was one for posterity as Sri Lanka first raised itself from the dungeons to reach 170 for 6 from a hopeless 58 for 5 because of Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s 45-ball-71, easily one of the best knocks under pressure in T20s in recent times.
