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

Sri Lanka’s World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga has called for authorities in Pakistan to ensure proper medical care for former Pakistan skipper Imran Khan, following reports that his health has deteriorated while serving a prison sentence.

Ranatunga, who led Sri Lanka through its own golden chapter in the game, said the cricketing fraternity owed it to one of the sport’s towering figures to ensure he was treated with dignity.

Imran remains one of the game’s most compelling all-rounders, a cricketer who could swing the new ball, marshal his troops with steely resolve and change the complexion of a contest with bat or ball. Under his command, Pakistan were a formidable outfit, never losing a Test series to the mighty West Indies during their halcyon years of the 1970s and 1980s.

His crowning glory came in Melbourne in 1992 when he inspired Pakistan to a World Cup triumph, rallying a cornered side with the now famous “cornered tigers” mantra and leading from the front when the chips were down.

After hanging up his boots, Imran traded the dressing room for the political arena. He entered politics and in 2018 became Prime Minister of Pakistan. His tenure coincided with a tense period in the country’s power corridors, particularly in relations with the military establishment. He was removed from office following a no-confidence vote in 2022 and was arrested the following year.

Ranatunga’s statement read as follows:

Imran Khan was not only an inspiration for millions of Pakistanis, but was also someone whom I, and many other young cricketers, admired and aspired to be. I know of many people who grew up admiring his courage, conviction, and unwavering belief in his country. For us, he transcended beyond cricket and politics. He was a symbol of hope, a patriot who carried his nation’s dreams on his shoulder, and an icon respected beyond Pakistan’s borders.

At this difficult time, I urge the authorities in Pakistan to treat him with humanity and dignity. Whatever the circumstances may be, it is important that compassion prevails. I implore that proper care and fairness be given to a man who has dedicated his life to his country and devoted his life to the people of Pakistan.

It is during these trying times that we must put aside differences and remember that before the politician and before the cricketer, there was Imran Khan, a human being deserving empathy, compassion, and humanity.