A voyage of pain and pleasure, as expressed in the words of a die-hard Sri Lankan fan.

By Kiri (13th April, 2014)

Do you know how it feels to try so many times but fall short at the altar? You’re playing the big leagues but fall short at the pinnacle. No, this is not Wrestle mania or the streak. I’m talking something bigger in reality. Bigger in glory and bigger in gaining hope. A World Cup. An event of this magnitude can happen nearly once every year in the form of a T20 World Cup or the 50 over World Cup. Over the past 7 years, Sri Lanka have twisted and bruised every muscle, ground their teeth and grabbed every bit of hope they could find to win a world event. They had every opportunity in doing so. The 2007 World Cup, 2009 World T20, 2011 World Cup and 2012 World T20 are all testimonies to failed attempts at glory.

One common factor deduced from all finals was their inability to handle pressure. With great pressure, come great mistakes. Sri Lanka bore the brunt of this parody. In each final, they made one mistake that cost them something even bigger in the end. With each loss, a greater amount of pressure came from not winning the last final. However, you could argue that in itself, could potentially lower their expectations but that is no excuse for failing so consistently. Many have chosen to look at this as a positive where Sri Lanka should be looked at as a 'tournament team' for their consistency. However, it is humiliating as a Sri Lankan fan to even look at their home team as a ‘tournament team’ when they haven’t even won a title. I find this is a poor excuse to hide behind till the next final lingers.

I was just a tiny man when Sri Lanka lost the 2007 World Cup. However, come 3rd of April, I was a fully functional Sri Lankan teenager in the mists of many Indians in a state West London school. Don’t get me wrong. They were great people. When I saw their faces however, they had smiles that screamed ‘BEST IN THE WORLD’ like a mad CM Punk. From this point on, Sri Lanka was as a country that could be psychologically challenged. Our country would go on to lose ODI series to England and Pakistan by large margins. We reached a low. I felt low. Personally, I felt my weakest as a cricket fan.

This all changed with the 2012 T20 WC Final. I had hope. However, when Mahela tried cutting a Sunil Narine delivery that kept low on the pitch, he sliced it to point, starting a collapse. I was done. I knew from then on, Sri Lanka losing a final would now just be a formality. The same happened in the semi-final of the Champions Trophy, as well as the Tri Series final in West Indies the same year. With a span of three different captains, Sri Lanka still didn’t learn the art of winning a final hurdle. It got to a point where they were just making a mockery of themselves.

Fast forward to the eve of the 2014 World T20. My best friend is an Indian said to me ‘You know what’s going to happen on Sunday’, even I knew as he addressed the final the first time we met after we knew who the two spots in the final were gone to. Both of us go a long time back to the 2011 WC final. He held that win on me and tortured me every time I brought up the topic of who was the ‘best team in the world?’ Boy, was he in for it. I was texting him as India galloped on with Kohli leading the charge. When India got to 130 as the first innings score, my heart started racing. Thoughts scrambled through my head. ‘We have another chance, but can our batsman capitalize?’, ‘do I still hope for a win or just expect the worst?' I didn’t want to invest any emotion, as Sri Lanka didn’t do much for me for the past 7 years to deserve it.

When Perera finally hit those winning runs, the Sri Lankan staff ran on to the square and embraced one half of the retiring duo on television. The camera chased a jubilant support staff dashing across the turf. Fireworks started a luminous cacophony. This was it. I felt nothing. We finally did it, but the essence of emotion just escaped me. I was already prepared for a victory 7 years ago.

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