If ever Sri Lanka needed their 12th man it was tonight, and the crowd at the Khettarama was up to the task. Up to three hours before the first ball, fans were queuing up and bustling to get in, with the congestion starting around a kilometre away from the ground. And by the time the first ball was bowled, the ground was already a sea of blue and yellow.
New Zealand are arguably one of the most mentally resilient outfits out there, but the decibels being generated certainly put that to the test; dots were cheered like wickets, every fielding effort was greeted with resounding applause, and wickets tested the limits of the human eardrum. The Khettarama wasn't messing about.
And for about 15 overs that spirit radiated like a pulsating energy-dense aura, almost willing New Zealand batters to succumb in ever more unusual ways; Rachin Ravindra cutting straight to gully, or Daryl Mitchell playing all around a straight one. It brought the best out of Sri Lanka's players too: Dushmantha Chameera, enraged by a dropped skier, responded by cranking it up from 135 clicks to 145ish, spearing through Glenn Phillips' defences; Maheesh Theekshana dropped a straightforward chance only to take a stunner on the way to a three-wicket haul.
But in Sri Lankan cricket, brilliance is often fleeting. The momentum veered violently in a final four-over stretch that bled 70 runs, letting New Zealand out of jail. When the chase began, the hosts committed cricketing hara-kiri, tottering to 20 for 2 by the end of the powerplay.
The atmosphere shifted instantly. The partisan roars were replaced by "gallows humour", that has become the hallmark of the modern Sri Lankan fan. By the time the stadium DJ's bass-heavy beats kicked in, the crowd was sarcastically chanting "New-Zea-land". The exaggerated celebrations in the stands for the team's century milestone felt like a stinging indictment of the tragedy unfolding on the pitch.
The running joke among the fanbase is that their relationship with this side is "toxic". In reality, it's more like an empty-shell marriage. The deep love that once existed is long gone; the fans turn up out of a sense of obligation or the faint, flickering inkling of hope. They stay for the odd grand romantic gesture that briefly rekindles the flame before the cold reality of disappointment sets in.
"Honestly I don't know what to say to the fans. As players we have not given them a win to be joyful about," was skipper Dasun Shanaka's blunt response, when asked if he had anything to say to the long-suffering fans.
The negativity is infectious, yet it masks genuine flashes of quality that should be the foundation of a rebuild. The dilemma for Sri Lankan cricket is in identifying its true face.
Pathum Nissanka's masterful ton to knock out Australia; Kamindu Mendis finding his range; Shanaka's fireworks; Kusal Mendis' trio of fifties; Chameera's enduring quality; these are but a few moments and threads that fans, players and coaching staff alike should hang their hopes on.
But so calamitous have been some of Sri Lanka's recent batting exploits, it only takes a few bad days to undo several more filled with goodwill. The nightmarish powerplays against England and New Zealand will no doubt be among the lasting memories of this tournament, similar to how being bowled out for 50 - twice - in the span of a few months overshadowed the positives from the 2023 Asia and World Cups.
As Shanaka noted, the players were stuck in a cycle where they cannot meet the expectations they themselves set.
"We're always looking at how to win, how to bring a good outcome for the country," he said. "But we know that's not possible now, and for that we're sorry."
The 2022 Asia Cup win now feels like a distant memory, overshadowed by shoddy performances across three consecutive global showcases. The worry is that the longer this malaise lasts, the harder it becomes to snap the cycle.
But unlike a failing marriage, there is no option for divorce. For better or worse, the Sri Lankan team and its long-suffering fans are tethered to one another. Perhaps the only way forward is for both parties to finally temper their expectations, and accept that for now, the "grand gestures" will be few and far between.