An afterthought

At the start "a too close to call" quarterfinal, Won the all important toss , Put the opposition on field who has a history of love affairs with the "C-tag" when chasing , Two eye catching surprises (Debut spinner, Rookie quickie)

Sri Lanka's quarterfinal clash against South Africa had all the ingredients going their way on the verge of the start but what happened then is history that every Sri Lankan would love to forget

Out came Kusal Perera to open for the first time in the tournament despite a successful opening partnership between Dilshan & Thirimanne, Mistake, Ohhhh Huge one

Then a man who hit four consecutive tons which no one ever had done in history of the game took 21 balls to get off the mark, Giving too much value to his wicket (Much like what Yuvraj did for India in 2014 T20 final), Overconfidence

Playing against a South Africa's part-time spinner like he was Sharne Warne & sacrificing a Hat-trick in the process, Best players in the world against spin they said , well said

So the result was inevitable, worst ever knock out defeat till date

It also happened to be the finale of arguably the best ever Partnership or Bromance of the game, "SangaWardene" , Tough luck Legends

I see a lot of fans crying over their retirement in social networks, Well yeah they did a great deal of service to Sri Lanka Cricket so it's understandable but this is not a good time to let emotions get over you

Let me tell you why,

Simply because no any player is bigger than the game, Not Sanga , Not Sachin, Not anyone

Criticize the mistakes done by seniors , juniors, management , support staff, fans , everyone &
Learn something to be prepared for 2019

You don't need a whole bucket of resources if you having a perfect plan, Remember 1996? All we had was one world class player (Ara) to go with some average yet patriotic players, But that team had a born-leader with a clear plan, A perfect underdog story

1999, Well, i can't even remember what happened

2003, Again a good team under Sana but no world class players at that point of time

Then came 2007, The best team Sri Lanka ever had as far as i think, 6 top class players (sana, sanga, mahela, murali, vassy, malinga) to go with a proper plan under Mahela the Tactician's guile, It's really disappointing to see them lose against a Masterclass of a knock by Gilly in Final

2011, Home advantage, Average team to be honest with an ageing murali but played well thanks to some individual brilliance, How can someone forget that century from Mahela

96 we had team spirit, 2007 the resources, we never had a plan for this world cup nor the resources

At the start of his career as a selector, Sanath Jayasuriya did impress but later fell off the radar considerably, Too many bad selections & choices

The lack of interest showed by seniors to groom youngsters, Well you might see this as harsh but Mahela & Sanga made a merry of it, Occupying the Number 3 & 4 batting positions all the time was just selfish act while Chandimal & Thirimanne batting lower down the order, Sanga not giving up gloves

The captaincy conundrum, I highly doubt there was an ideal environment for captain Mathews to take everything's under his control, Three ex captains never let there onus let slip

So with only two world class players in the ranks and a fragile captain with the steering wheel and a ageing, bulging Lasith Malinga bowling like a medium pacer, should have we expected them to go far? Well yes, At least after winning the toss against South Africa in turning a SCG

What lies ahead then? No Mahela & Sanga anymore there but future's safe given that Mathews, Thirimannes and Chandimals will live up to their true potential

Build a team with the discipline and players with the hunger to win games for their country, That's what Sri Lanka lacks not the skills

Not just 2 or 3 top class players but 6 or 7 , Look at India today (Credits where it's due)

For this to happen, the management(world's worst i'd say) has to change with the coaching staff, No more Ranathungas, Dharmadasas, Atapattus Please

Come 2019 we will be ready, Let's Hope, for it's in our Blood this Game