A dream I didn't dare to dream because I didn't know I could dare to becomes a reality. 2 years of effort,hopefully a timeless masterpiece. Beyond privileged to have worked with Lasith aiyya & the fabulous team in this endeavour. Experience, which I'll forever be grateful for.

Interesting call to bring DDS & Bhanuka into the scheme of things prior to the WT20. The repeated last-minute, desperate recalls, a hallmark of 🇱🇰s ICC campaigns, is a painful reminder of how broken our system is. You just can't go back to players you leave behind & expect fixes.

Despite winning the same title, the events of October 6th 2012 will remains a fresh scar. Its bitter sweet. The loss will hurt untill we win a title at RPS but it also serves as a memory from a campaign like no other. We can sadly be sure, there'll be none similar in near future!

Mirpur 2014 was great. But nothing, I repeat, nothing could match a world title at the claudron of 🇱🇰 cricket. WT 2012 wasn't a mere tournament. It was a phase where entire 🇱🇰 backed & lived the dream with emotions, side by side with the team. Those feelings will remain fresh.

Mahela & Sangakkara would sign off in style as if it was scripted to be a perfect send-off all along. Malinga would redefine death bowling with a masterclass against the best of the best, in what would be a redemption perfectly scripted to wash off the nightmares of RPS in 2012

The entire nation went to sleep hoping to wake up the next day wishing what transpired that night at the RPS was nothing but a nightmare. Just that it wasn't to be. In what would be sporting poetry, 🇱🇰 would be crowned WT20 champions in 2014, 18 months later.

As the Gangnam style celebrations silenced the papare, which was in full flow for weeks, the expression on the faces of 🇱🇰 team & especially a capture of Mahela & Sanga was a reflection of the general mood across not only the RPS but the whole country. Another final, another loss

Sammy's cameo signed off the shift in fortunes. Dilshan's rattled timber noise awakened the nightmares of Lords in 2009. Drizzle playing hide & seek, DLS saying "Hi", Mahela's resulting risk gone meant only one thing. 🇱🇰's hopes weren't crash landing but catching fire mid-air.

The ghosts of Gambhir being missed in Mumbai surfaced. What followed was cricketing cruelty. Malinga's massacre was too unreal for the eyes to believe, the ears to come to terms with. The sound & sight of those Samuel strikes are wounds, which would never heal for 🇱🇰 witnesses.

October 6th, 2012 arrived. 🇱🇰 were meant to be their. WI had made it just by the skin of their teeth. The gap was obvious halfway through the 1st innings. Just when one thought, it was too good to be real,reality marked its presence. As Kulasekera dropped Samuel's in the deep...

Sometimes, the biggest games arrive before the finals. 🇵🇰 on a turning RPS, was that for 🇱🇰. The vibes at RPS that day wouldn't ever be matched. A world T20 SF, 🇱🇰 won at RPS can only be bettered by a world title win. 🇱🇰s brilliance suggested that was a formality only days away.

The crowd in Pallekele, where 🇱🇰 played the super 8s was a notch above. It was cricketing bliss. Despite of a fittingly dramatic super over win in the opening game, 🇱🇰 were head & shoulders above competition. They played like they owned the right to the title. Hopes sky rocketed.

If one were to see how much this meant to the fans, the build-up to the 🇿🇦 game in Hambantota was a testament. People taking the long trip down south and travel packages all together meant the majority wanted to be only in one place. Where 🇱🇰 were playing. Rain was no obstacle

A strong top order backed by Angelo- Thisara at peak in the middle with a bowling line up filthy rich with skill & variety together with home advantage meant, this had to be 🇱🇰s title to let go. The home carnival just added colour, emotion, and everything else to this pursuit...

After the near misses of 2007,2009 & 2011, WT 2012 was 🇱🇰s shot at coronation. There appeared an air of inevitability for 🇱🇰s crowning. The core, which fell just short at Lords in 2009, was intact. 🇱🇰 appeared to be the surprise OGs of T20Is. Rankings backed this. The team,too.

In sport there are some campaigns which go beyond titles. 🇱🇰s WT20 campaign in 2012 was one such. 🇳🇿 in CWC 2015, 🇮🇳 in CWC 2023 are such equivalents. Home ICC world title campaigns have a flavour others don't. Despite lacking a title to show, they resilliently reasonate forever

https://t.co/9yfOtwbDuE

"Aravinda De Silva on that evening at Eden Gardens in CWC 1996 Semi Final " "Aura" would be in "Awe" if it were to be defined that way!!

Just when you think you have seen it all in 🇮🇳-🇵🇰 encounters after the recent drama in Asia Cup, this happens... A never-ending pipeline of never seen befores...

🇱🇰 v 🇦🇺 World Cup games in 🇱🇰 aren't destined to be, it seems.. 1996: 🇦🇺 forfeited the game due to security reasons 2011: Washed out halfway through 1st innings 2025: Abandoned without a ball being bowled 2012 WT20, 🇦🇺 were favourites to meet 🇱🇰 in the final, WI gatecrashed

Tilak Varma's knock last night was a masterclass in T20 Innings building. Should serve as a learning benchmark for 🇱🇰s middle order. Played the percentages precisely under pressure & delivered when it mattered. The difference between top-tier teams & rest. Deserved winners 🏆