Sri Lanka: From isolation scare to Asian glory

When the reigning T20 World Champions Australia toured Sri Lanka for three T20Is, five ODIs, and two Test matches in June earlier this year, the island nation was in shambles; marred by political and economic crisis.

The sight of endless queues outside fuel stations, frequent blackouts, skyrocketing prices of essential goods and commodities, people protesting on the streets, and the constant battle to keep the wolf from the door among others had become an everyday thing.

When a group of peaceful protesters was attacked in Gotagogama on May 9, merely three weeks prior to the day the tourists were scheduled to land, it created an air of uncertainty around the tour. 

The place of attack was just a short stroll away from the hotel where the tourists were supposed to stay. The incident was enough to put the tour in jeopardy but to the credit of Cricket Australia, they decided to continue as planned. 

Cognizant of how a possible refusal could have jolted Sri Lanka Cricket and pushed them towards the brink of possible cricketing isolation, the Australian High Commission in Colombo worked tirelessly to ensure the tour became a reality.

When a country is in dire straits and its citizens are forced to wage a battle to make ends meet, sport takes a back seat, and rightfully so. Hence, there was a conjecture brewing that the spectator turnout was going to be exiguous for almost all the games during the tour. 

But all those conjectures were put to rest when Sri Lanka Cricket confirmed that tickets for the first two T20 internationals were sold out three days before the first T20I at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo.

If you are someone who followed cricket matches in Sri Lanka during the late 1990s and in the decade that followed, the sight of a dark blue sea playing and buzzing to the tunes of baila would still be fresh in your mind. The sea of blue was there for everyone to see in the first T20I too as the two Lankan openers in Danushka Gunathilaka and Pathum Nissanka walked out to bat in the middle but there was an oddity. 

To the amazement of the reigning T20 World Champions led by their skipper Aaron Finch, there were numerous Sri Lankan fans donning yellow jerseys that read "Thank you Australia" and banners with "Thank you Australia for visiting Sri Lanka" carved out in bold. 

Most cricket pundits had written the hosts off from the outset and how they were outplayed by the Finch-led side in the first T20I only bolstered those predictions and Sri Lanka were gaping at yet another series loss at home.

But often in sport akin to any other walk of life, the intense hankering to achieve something ends up being the difference between victory and defeat. In addition to that, if you have supporters who are willing to back you in the most trying times and even at the expense of arranging two square meals a day then it only injects more venom into that 'hankering'.

Anguished by the drubbing suffered in the first game, the hosts fought back strongly in the second but still suffered a three-wicket agonising loss. Their yearning for a win eventually bore fruit as they turned the tides in the final T20I. Skipper Dasun Shanaka propelled them to a hard-fought four-wicket win and the Pallekele stadium erupted in ecstasy.

Filled with confidence, the Shanaka-led side squared off against Australia in the first ODI and were looking favourites to bag the game before they were gobsmacked by a Glenn Maxwell blitzkrieg. But unfazed by the two-wicket heartbreak and fuelled by the backing of millions of Sri Lankans, the hosts mustered all their courage and scripted what will go down in history as one of the most historic ODI series victories ever. 

The two-match Test series in Galle also started on an awful note for the hosts as they were humbled by ten wickets. But just as a cornered tiger never goes down without a fight, Dimuth Karunaratne's side surmounted the pounding and clinched an innings victory in the second Test to square the series 1-1.

An element that could highlight their feat was the fact that they were bowled out in 22.5 overs in the second innings of the first Test and came back strongly to post 554 runs at the same venue in the second match. Achieving the feat didn't only require keeping a world-class bowling attack at bay but also needed the Lions to put up a lion-hearted effort as crises galore.

High on the euphoric results achieved by their side during the entirety of the tour, the Sri Lankan fans found themselves at the receiving end of yet another element of joy. Smitten with affection showered by the Sri Lankan fans, the Australian team donated all of their prize money earned on the tour for the well-being of the Sri Lankans battling their darkest hour in recent history.

Quite similar to how the Shanaka-led side was deemed 'not favourites' to win the series against Australia, many former cricketers, and cricket experts didn't consider them as title contenders for the recently culminated Asia Cup 2022 either. 

But more than battling the narrative that they were not even good enough to hold a candle to some of their mighty Asian neighbours like India and Pakistan, Shanaka's men focused on the task at hand. The start of the Asia Cup began on a similar deflating note for them as they were blown away by Afghanistan in the first game. 

But just as they had put the setback suffered in the first Test at Galle against the Aussies behind, they made yet another comeback and arguably their strongest ever to win their record-sixth Asia Cup title.

There are plenty of elements that stand out about Sri Lanka's historic win. Avoiding an early and unceremonious exit scare, steamrolling adversaries en route to the silverware, taking the 'toss factor' out of the equation, and driving home the bragging rights to be hailed as Asian champions.

All the above elements that yielded Sri Lanka's Asia Cup success have the potential of making an awe-inspiring fairy-tale. But they are eclipsed by the fact that it gave millions of Sri Lankan fans back home a fleeting moment of joy and a reason to throng the streets in merriment and glee.