Brave ... and foolish

Sanath Jayasuriya's insistence on batting in the first game of the IndianOil Cup after dislocating his shoulder in the afternoon, despite being told by his Australian surgeon that he may aggravate tendon damage in his shoulder joint, was a massive gamble. In fact, it was foolish in the extreme, risking his fitness for months to come.

But that just made it all the more gripping and heroic. Here was man, doped to the eyeballs with painkillers, his shoulder strapped like a war victim, determined to play his part in winning the 335th game of his career, even if the personal consequences were severe. Who says the players have lost the stomach for one-day cricket?

There would have been no point in Jayasuriya batting if he had failed. When he walked to the crease you sensed he would either realise first ball that he was attempting the impossible and retire gracefully back to the physio's couch or see Sri Lanka home. When you gamble so much you are bound to place a higher price on your wicket. True enough, he soaked up the pressure and finished it off.

Jayasuriya struggled at the outset, unable to cut and pull because of the sharp pain, but after about 20 minutes the painkilling injection, applied when Mahela Jayawardene was bowled, hit the spot and his movements became smoother. When he stroked a cover-drive to the fence, one of six boundaries, we realised that he had overcome the pain. By the close, he was swivel-pulling with ease.

Unfortunately, it could be a decision that he lives to regret. This is the second time in his career that he has dislocated the same shoulder, the last time was in September 2002 in Morocco. Dr David Young, his Australian surgeon, - by good fortune was in the ground as a spectator having come to the island for one of his frequent tsunami relief visits (the Doctor is raising $2 million for the development of state-of-the-art orthopaedic theatres in Ampara, Batticaloa and Galle) - is worried about damage to his rotator cuff.

Jayasuriya will be sent for an MRI scan on Sunday and Young hopes that he will not discover a full thickness tear. If he does then surgery is unavoidable. It appears that the worse case scenario is surgery and a four-month layoff. Despite being a fast healer, his appearance again in this tournament is unlikely although Sri Lanka will be desperate for him to play in the rest of the matches.

In the morning, Muttiah Muralitharan did enough to hog the bowling headlines, exploding his doosra around dangerously in the middle overs and at the death, but the crucial dirty work was done upfront, by Farveez Maharoof and Dilhara Lokuhettige, men so inexperienced and unknown that even Sri Lanka's cricket-mad fans might mistake them for bouncers if they were seen loitering outside a Colombo nightclub.

The loss of Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Zoysa during the space of a week appeared to be a telling blow, exposing Sri Lanka's modest fast-bowling resources to a depleted but still powerful and explosive Indian top order. The prospect of Virender Sehwag finding his eye and mauling the greenhorns was real and worrying. But Lokuhettige, bowling into a very stiff wind, and Maharoof excelled, bowling accurately and moving the ball sufficiently to send back both Mahendra Dhoni and Sehwag, the two dangermen. Both Lokuhettige and Maharoof also played vital hands with the bat, showing maturity beyond their years.

Sri Lanka's win may have come with a heavy price tag, but it will have brought them great cheer. The youngsters, the key to World Cup success, have performed .