Pakistan's ICC Twenty20 World Cup victory is the first step on the slow process of welcoming the country back to the international fold.
The unifying nature of sport is often overstated, but there can be little doubt that Pakistan’s victory in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup will bring a fragmented nation together, at least for a few hours.
Thousands watched the game on giant screens in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad and Multan, including Mohammad Khalil, the coach driver whose quick thinking saved the Sri Lankan players and officials after the March terror attack at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
"We desperately needed this victory because there's so much happening around our country," Khalil told the Express News television.
Though no-one expects peace to break out in the troubled nation by virtue of the win, it will help the path of normalisation for Pakistani cricket. Teams were avoiding Pakistan even before the March terror attacks, but their status as world Twenty20 champions will help improve their box office on the international stage.
Captain Younis Khan used his valedictory speech as a Twenty20 player to implore the rest of the international cricket community to return to Pakistan to play, hinting that the game is a bulwark against terrorism.
"I am requesting to all of the countries: 'You must come to Pakistan'," Younis said.
"How can we promote cricket to our youngsters if there is no international game in Pakistan? How can I motivate my son and my neighbours' small children?
“That's why we need cricket in Pakistan. Law and order is not good, but this is not our fault. We are suffering at the moment from these kinds of things. I think sports should be away from politics."
Younis’ pleas are unlikely to be heeded, but we can expect the UAE and the UK to be even keener to host Pakistan home matches for future Test and ODI series, given the increased interest in the team the win will invoke amongst the Pakistani diasporas in those nations.
Though the final itself was not quite the tense classic that the neutral hoped for, there were plenty of fascinating subplots in the game between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Kumar Sangakkara’s captain innings of 64 from 52 balls to rescue his side from 70 for 6 showed that Twenty20 scoring does not begin and end at ‘Boom Boom’. The aggregation of runs, with just seven fours but plenty of finely crafted twos, proved once again that there is a place in Twenty20 for experience, for players who stick to the basics of cricket.
At the other extreme, Shahid Afridi’s 54 was a welcome return to batting form for a man who has suffered at the crease for about two-and-half-years, and the unalloyed joy of Afridi and his team-mates as they thanked Allah on the Lord’s pitch for the victory will have touched all cricket fans who feel that the game needs a strong Pakistan.
The tournament has been an undoubted success, despite the dearth of really close finishes, with plenty of YouTube moments to enjoy.
From Chris Gayle’s flaying of the Australia attack, to Tillakaratne Dilshan’s improvisational genius, the batting was explosive. In the field, Angelo Mathews' six stopping and Kyle Coetzer’s catch were as good as any seen in international cricket.
As to the bowling, Umar Gul was often unplayable with his reverse swing, whilst Lasith Malinga’s slingy action has still not been worked out by Twenty20 batsmen.
Twenty20 cricket has gathered a new audience from this undoubtedly successful tournament, whilst the players have developed new skills as the game has evolved from the fun fest of six years ago to the cash cow of the modern game.