Some are calling this the final before the final. India were the clear favourites anyway, and South Africa have emerged unbeaten from the toughest group of the draw. Their easy win against New Zealand has sent warning signs.

A budding rivalry that began with the last T20 World Cup final, which South Africa lost despite bossing it for 35 overs, continued as they had their own back with a Test whitewash of India in India.

Throw in high stakes. This is no longer a match in which only India stand to lose something although they will not want to be the XI that breaks India’s winning streak of 12 at T20 World Cups. South Africa stand to lose a lot as well.

Sri Lanka’s final group game of the T20 World Cup was, on paper, a dead rubber. Zimbabwe had already punched their Super Eight ticket and so had the co-hosts. Yet, 24 hours before the toss, tickets were sold out. By the time the coin went up at Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium, the access roads were chock-a-block, horns blaring, vendors shouting, fans draped in blue streaming in like it was a final.

For a so-called inconsequential game, it felt anything but.

When supporters turn up in numbers for a fixture with nothing riding on it, that’s not blind loyalty, that’s belief. Sri Lanka, after years in the wilderness, have given their faithful something to cheer about. They are no longer making up the numbers. They are back in the contest.

The moment that injected oxygen into this campaign was the night they showed Australia the exit door. For Sri Lankan fans, there is no sweeter soundtrack than the silence of an Aussie dressing room packing up early. The younger fan brigade may relish having a go at India, but knocking out Australia still carries its own flavour.

Now the focus shifts to the Super Eight. Three games. Win two and Sri Lanka could be boarding flights to Calcutta or Bombay for a semi-final berth. That would be a seismic moment. The national side has not reached the last four of a global event for 12 long years. In cricketing terms, that’s an eternity.

Sport, like life, moves in cycles. Between 2007 and 2015, Sri Lanka were serial semi-finalists and finalists, a golden era when reaching the knockouts of ICC events was routine business. England, in contrast, were perennial underachievers in white-ball cricket, often bundled out early and licking their wounds. But they went back to the drawing board, addressed their white-ball philosophy, and emerged as a different beast, fearless, methodical and consistent on the global stage.

Sri Lanka appear to be following a similar blueprint.

One of the burning issues identified was strike rate. Last year, Chairman of Selectors Upul Tharanga publicly called for urgency with the bat. Too many Sri Lankan batters were stuck in second gear, striking at 120 or 130, respectable in another era, but pedestrian in modern T20 cricket.

This tournament has told a different story.

Kamindu Mendis has been batting as if the fielders are mere ornaments, striking at a jaw-dropping 225. Dasun Shanaka has rediscovered his finishing boots, going at 200. Pavan Rathnayake has muscled his way to 177, while Pathum Nissanka, long seen as more accumulator than aggressor, has operated at a healthy 155.

Those are not cosmetic improvements. Those are match-defining numbers.

Sri Lanka’s bowling cupboard has rarely been bare. Spin has been their calling card, seamers their workhorses. But too often in recent years, the batting has misfired, leaving bowlers with too little to defend. Now, with Pathum anchoring, Pavan counter-punching and Kamindu playing the role of accelerator, the top order is beginning to hum. Charith Asalanka, meanwhile, is far too gifted to be warming the bench for long.

The Super Eight will provide sterner examinations. England have had the wood over Sri Lanka in recent meetings. Pakistan and New Zealand, however, are sides we have found ways to outfox. More importantly, the middle order, once the soft underbelly, is showing signs of steel.

There are, of course, absentees that could haunt them in the business end. Wanindu Hasaranga, Matheesha Pathirana and Eshan Malinga would have been invaluable when the heat rises. Experience in global tournaments and franchise leagues like the IPL is currency you cannot easily replace. Hasaranga’s recurring hamstring troubles remain a concern and managing his fitness, including conditioning, must be a priority if he is to prolong his career.

Credit, too, must go upstairs. Sri Lanka Cricket have left no stone unturned. The appointment of Vikram Rathour and R. Sridhar, key lieutenants under Ravi Shastri during India’s successful run, has added tactical clarity. The involvement of South Africa’s Paddy Upton, a guru of the mental side of the game, has strengthened the team’s headspace.

The dividends are visible.

For now, the biggest victory may not be on the points table but in the stands. The blue flags are back. The roads are jammed again. The buzz has returned.

In Sri Lanka, that is often the first sign that a team has truly turned the corner.

by Rex Clementine