From Lahore to Lord’s in three months and 17 days: it’s not been an easy ride for either of these teams, but between them over the last couple of weeks, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have scripted one of the more dramatic tales in international sport.

Their remarkable journey to the final of the World Twenty20 championship is no ordinary achievement. On March 3, the Sri Lankan team bus was attacked by gunmen when they were on their way to the Gadaffi Stadium for a Test match. Six players were wounded, and cricket in Pakistan, for the foreseeable future, was dead. Does one get over something like that? Thirty players have proved that it can be done.

Pakistan captain Younis Khan said at the pre-match press conference, “We’re very close to the Lankan team. I kept getting phone calls then saying ‘take care of them’. You can’t forget such a thing.”

For Lanka and also for Pakistan—where, as Younis keeps pointing out, things are going from bad to worse—a win on Sunday will put some smiles back. “I’ve got a lot of phone calls and people feel we’ve already won the trophy. It’s a big tournament, a big moment for all of us. Inshallah, we will win,” Younis said.

The Lankan team have been playing some spectacular cricket. At every press conference, captain Kumar Sangakkara has said they were completely focussed on the cricket. “We have to move on. Hopefully both the teams will put up a nice spectacle and everyone will enjoy it,” he said.

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