Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara uphold Sri Lankan pride

In the middle of the most over-hyped tournament in the world, the Indian Premier League, the Delhi Daredevils inadvertently provided a glimpse into the past, a retro-perspective, if you will. Delhi played two of their matches in Raipur, an aspirational city that has no cricket pedigree and little happening if you ignore mining and heavy industry. It was there, in the middle of India's mineral-rich hinterland, that an opportunity opened up to have a leisurely chat with Mahela Jayawardene.

The IPL had not been especially kind to the Daredevils. In the absence of Kevin Pietersen, the team finished dead last, and Jayawardene did not exactly set the world ablaze with his bat. But, he did not look like a man at the end of his tether. Jayawardene's spirit was still strong, his preparation ultra-earnest and his ambition undimmed. Which is why, it came as a bit of a surprise when he said he wasn't at all sure what the cricketing future held for him.

"The 2015 World Cup is a marker, a milestone. But there are no guarantees. It all depends on my hunger to perform, my form. Honestly, I can't be certain I'll still be around, but it's a challenge that I have to look at every six months," explained Jayawardene. "I have to take stock of my game and see if I'm contributing enough. If I'm hitting the numbers that I have in my head, doing well for the team, then definitely I'd like to play the next World Cup."

On Monday, Jayawardene didn't merely hit the high notes while sinking Australia, he showcased his entire range in typically silken fashion. If there were questions about his utility to the Sri Lankan team - and there is a faction that has second-guessed his every move for the longest time - they should have been laid to rest. Just as he had done in the World Cup final in 2011, Jayawardene showed that the truly good players are not overawed by the big occasion, the clutch match, rather they absorb the pressure, soak in the atmosphere and produce their best.

Thanks to Jayawardene, Sri Lanka had made it to their sixth semifinal of the last eight multi-team ICC events, and he has an explanation for why a tiny island punches above its weight with such regularity.

"For us, it is about a culture of cricket and the value we place on the game. A lot of people have worked very hard to earn a good name for Sri Lankan cricket. We are where we are because of what the players before us achieved. This is something we have always emphasised in the team room and in meetings," said Jayawardene. "The work that the Anura Tennekooons, Michael Tisseras, Arjuna Rantaunga, Roy Dias, Aravinda de Silva ... the list is long, they've brought us immense pride. It is up to anyone representing Sri Lanka to uphold this and try and improve on it. We realise that we are a tiny island. Luckily for us, though we have a small population, it's a cricket-mad population. Because of this, we still have good talent coming through. As long as we instill the pride of playing for Sri Lanka, and set up the right environment and culture, that's the way forward. This is the reason we've done well in big tournaments against stronger teams when we travel out of Sri Lanka - we have that pride."

That pride is also the reason why Jayawardene's unrelated twin, the other pillar of the team, Kumar Sangakkara, continues to power his national team - the ruthless 134 he made against England being a case in point - even as he struggles to deliver the goods elsewhere. In the IPL, Sangakkara, who began the season as the captain of the Sunrisers Hyderabad, ran into such a bad patch that he left himself out of the playing eleven. And, while the IPL isn't always the best indicator of how a player is going, a quick look at Sangakkara's returns over the years is revealing. His batting averages, from the inception of the tournament are as follows chronologically: 35.56, 30.18, 29.75, 27.54, 18.18 and 13.33. In 2010, Sangakkara's IPL decline began, and yet he was strong as steel for Sri Lanka in ODIs, averaging 48.40, 51.22, 43.85 and 79 in successive years.

On the face of it there seemed little to explain this anomaly, but speaking to people who know Sangakkara best, including some who have had the opportunity to work with him in a coaching role, an interesting answer emerged. "It's entirely possible that as age catches up, Kumar is just unable to mentally give as much to an international T20 league. With Sri Lanka, he cares deeply, that's in his system," came one suggestion. "Kumar knows that he is closer to the end of his career than the beginning, and now every match Sri Lanka plays is a chance to leave a legacy."

This fits perfectly with Jayawardene's explanation for his team's success in big events. When there's something at stake, when Sri Lanka's reputation is on the line, the two old boys get to work. Sangakkara and Jayawardene have once again set things up perfectly. The time has come, literally in this tournament, and figuratively in the longer term, for others to pick up the baton and get across the finish line, while the two are still around to keep the transition smooth.