The Sri Lankan crowd, adorned with parasols, flags, and face paint, celebrated their team's anthem with exceptional enthusiasm during the 9.30am GMT start at Pallekele. The 'battle of the anthems' provided a vibrant atmosphere for the T20 World Cup Super 8s encounter between Sri Lanka and England.
As cricket action got underway, special correspondent Simon has been exploring local culture during his coverage of the tournament, even developing expertise on local banana varieties.