Sri Lanka get heroes' welcome on returning home from Asia Cup 2014

"Four World Cup finals, four heartbreaks, but this is what it feels like to finally win something," one Sri Lanka fan was overheard saying, as the open-top bus carrying Sri Lanka's cricketers came into view near SLC headquarters. She was one of thousands who lined the streets, waving flags, decked in blue, tooting horns, and occasionally breaking out in a baila-flavoured jig as they awaited the Asia Cup-winners.

Cricket lovers in Sri Lanka are an apathetic bunch by South Asian standards, and on Sunday even the beaming players appeared surprised by the masses that had turned out for them, on 18 hours' notice. The joy in the whoops, the whistles and the waves could not be mistaken, but equally palpable was the relief. Sri Lanka's public had waited a long time to shower adulation on their players like this. The players, many of them accustomed to a relatively throng-free existence, lapped up the attention.

Angelo Mathews and Kumar Sangakkara were in predictably high demand from the masses, with many calling out their names in desperate hope for a wave or smile they could boast was directed at them alone. 'Sanga' and 'Anji' are not just the team's captain and best batsman, they are also the nation's biggest heartthrobs. Both men know it too.