London: Younis Khan and Kumar Sangakkara embraced each other before and after the official photo shoot, at Lord’s, featuring the World T20 trophy.

The captains joked about its weight (12.5 kilos) and there was light-hearted banter on who would lift the trophy on Sunday, the tournament’s biggest day.

On the field, though, one can expect a fiery all-Asia final. There will, of course, be a strong emotional undercurrent — much more within the Pakistan team.

“We have a responsibility towards the country and the players are conscious of that... This is the T20 World Cup... Things haven’t been well at home and winning would mean everything for Pakistan,” Younis said.

He reiterated that should Pakistan emerge the best, the win would be dedicated to Bob Woolmer, who was the coach at the time of his mysterious death during the 2007 (50-over) World Cup.

Given that Sri Lanka and Pakistan have already played each other in the tournament (their first clash after Lahore), with the former winning the Super Eight fixture, emotions surely won’t overwhelm Sangakkara’s team.

“Hopefully, there won’t be much of emotions... We’ll have to control them and, whatever is there, use positively... Our players have got through with Lahore and, at times, it’s (even) nice to be reminded of your mortality,” Sangakkara, who’d been injured in the terror strike off the Gaddafi, pointed out.

Would a Sri Lankan win help unify the country (the World T20 has, after all, seen protests by Tamil sympathisers)?

Sangakkara answered like a diplomat: “Sri Lanka has always been united... We had a war, but the country has always been behind its cricket team...”

While Sangakkara didn’t talk of either being the favourites or the underdogs, Younis insisted his team fell in the latter category.

“We’re the underdogs and, so, there’s no pressure... Nobody expected us to get this far... We have nothing to lose,” was Younis’s contention.

Asked by The Telegraph whether he’d be sleeping well, Younis (who has received a ‘best of luck’ call from President Asif Ali Zardari) replied laughing: “Main hamesha theek sota hoon... Pressure ka koi sawaal nahin hai...”

In a nice gesture, meanwhile, former coach Geoff Lawson (he’d been around when Pakistan lost to India in the inaugural edition’s final) dropped by during Saturday’s nets.

Lawson won’t be the only one rooting for Pakistan. If Sri Lankan fans are to be believed, then Pakistani supporters have bought all the tickets which were unsold till Thursday evening, when Younis and Co. qualified for the final.

For all his confidence, Sangakkara admitted that Pakistan’s “unpredictability” was its USP. “It’s a temperamental team, but we aren’t taking anything for granted...”

It’s to be seen just how big is the unpredictability factor.

The Lord’s wicket has been on the slower side and with both teams having in-form spinners, from Ajantha Mendis to Shahid Afridi, batsmen may not have it their way. In any case, as Sangakkara observed the other day, “T20 is becoming more and more a bowler’s game...”

Both Sri Lanka, undefeated in the tournament, and Pakistan are expected to retain the XI which got through the semi-finals.

Men’s final starts: 7.30 pm (IST).