The papare played, the crowd bayed, wides were cheered and eventually Sri Lanka snuck home with one ball to spare in the second semi-final . This is a thrilling script for sure, but not one unfamiliar to the locals in attendance - some of whom had made the nearly four-hour drive from Colombo to Dambulla to watch this game. But it was certainly unfamiliar to those Sri Lankan players out in the middle.
Sri Lanka, to be sure, have come a long way in a relatively short span of time, with some big wins over the past year - particularly the ones against New Zealand and England - all while playing some solid cricket. But all those have come from the relatively familiar position of unheralded underdogs - something they have been anything but at this year's Women's Asia Cup .
While mostly empty stadiums have followed their successes in years past, fan support for the women's side is now the best it's ever been. Against Bangladesh in the group stages, the 16,000 capacity Rangiri Dambulla Stadium was roughly halfway full, which caught many of the Sri Lankan players off guard, regardless of their experience.
Then against Pakistan in Friday's semi-final, that number was easily reaching around 70% capacity, and what's more, the stadium was thoroughly vibing as the home side's ups and downs could be measured almost entirely through the groans and cheers of the thousands watching on.
The reason for this growth in support is obvious, this is a side that has been consistently successful for a healthy period of time now, and nothing quite puts bums on seats like winning. So while India remain the overwhelming favourites to take home the trophy, Sri Lanka having just as effectively steamrolled alongside them has certainly not gone unnoticed.
But bright lights, while enlightening, can also be blinding. And for a team of career underdogs, it would be understandable if the otherwise positive atmosphere of floodlights, music and a vocal home support, suddenly took on an adverse tinge. Especially as Pakistan had begun to make a nail-biter out of a game that some within the Sri Lankan camp might have even been a little guilty of looking past.
The telltale signs of pressure were there from the get-go, as Sri Lanka produced an uncharacteristically sloppy day in the field. Alongside shots that fell agonisingly beyond outfielders, there were countless fumbles, missed throws and half chances not taken, culminating in Harshitha Samarawickrama dropping Aliya Riaz on the boundary line in the penultimate over - the only cut and dry dropped chance, yes, but there were a handful in total that might have been taken with some better judgment.
Chamari Athapaththu would later acknowledge that the pressure of the occasion had got to some of her younger team-mates, many of whom might have only experienced such an atmosphere on TV or in the stands as a spectator.
Despite these errors though, a solid effort with the ball and Pakistan's failure to capitalise on a strong early platform meant the target was still a gettable 141. But a home semi-final can impact even the most experienced of campaigners, so for this paradoxically experienced yet inexperienced Sri Lankan side, this was never going to be a straightforward chase.
On a surface that was on the face of it suited to batting, Pakistan preyed on any jangling nerves their opponents might have been harbouring by varying the pace and length of their deliveries and capitalising on mistakes.
This meant that any wickets that fell, fell in clusters, with new batters struggling to gain composure in otherwise favourable conditions, strangely disconcerted by the palpable anticipation and excitement emanating from the stands.
Vishmi Gunaratne and Samarawickrama fell inside the powerplay to straight ones, while Kavisha Dilhari and Nilakshika Silva succumbed in the space of three deliveries in the 12th over.
Only Athapaththu, the sole Sri Lankan out there who had played in front of any sizeable crowd in her career, kept her head. But even she wasn't immune entirely - this after all was the biggest home crowd that a global superstar such as her had played in front of, and one can only imagine what her thoughts might have been as chants of 'Chamari' rang out across the stadium.
But with Athapaththu around, 21 needed from 21 - and six wickets in hand - was a breeze. The fans were festive, the coronation was close, but then just as swiftly Athapaththu had brought the win within touching range, she was gone - an attempted reverse sweep, straight after a boundary, missed, her stumps disturbed. All she could do was remain there, kneeling in position, unable to reconcile the reality of what she had done with the now fleeting moment of what was needed to be done.
The pressure had got to her, the valve was being tightened further. Hasini Perera's chaotic run-out a couple of balls later only confirmed what every soul in the stadium was feeling, lumps were firmly in throats, pulses were racing.
A mad cheer for a wide off what would have been the penultimate ball of the game denoted the levelling of scores, while simultaneously highlighting just how invested these fans had become.
But as those very same fans went home gleeful after a victorious evening of cricket, Sri Lanka will need to take a breath and regroup. They've got India on Sunday, and all that pressure will return. But unlike against Pakistan, they will also return to the role of underdogs. But maybe that might suit them just fine. And maybe, against all odds, they might end up giving their fans some silverware to cheer about.
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