Cricket rarely offers instant redemption, but when it does you'd do well to grab the opportunity with both hands which is exactly what Pathum Nissanka did against Australia on February 16 in Colombo.
Australia had gotten off to a flyer in what was a must-win game for them as Mitchell Marsh (54) and Travis Head (56) put together a blazing 104-run partnership off just 51 balls for the opening wickets.
With the platform laid by the openers, the Aussies looked set to accelerate in the middle-overs especially with big-hitter Glenn Maxwell at the crease.
That was when the first twist arrived.
In the 16th over, Dushmantha Chameera rolled his fingers over a slower delivery and Maxwell, through the shot early, miscued it straight up. The ball went miles high into the Pallekele night sky and Pathum Nissanka charged in from long-on, eyes fixed, hands cupped.
It should have been taken.
Instead, the ball slipped through his outstretched hands and brushed past his body. Maxwell, already threatening to break the game open, had been handed a reprieve on 18. Sri Lanka knew the magnitude of that missed opportunity, as did Nissanka.
However, the turnaround came almost immediately.
In the very next over, Dushan Hemantha floated one up on off. Maxwell dropped to one knee and nailed the reverse sweep towards backward point. The contact was clean, flat and seemingly safe.
Nissanka though had other ideas. Moving like a man possessed, he reacted in a flash from his position inside the circle, taking a couple of sharp steps before launching himself high to his left. At full stretch, almost parallel to the ground, he clasped the ball above his head with both hands and held on as he crashed to the turf.
That stunning moment of brilliance ensured Maxwell's stay at the crease ended at just 22 off 15 balls. From a position of dominance after the Marsh-Head onslaught, the innings lost momentum, eventually finishing on 181, well short of the 200-plus total that had seemed imminent.
For Nissanka, it was redemption in real time: one over separating error from excellence, anxiety from acclaim. He didn't stop there though as he continued to then torment Australia with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 100* off just 52 balls to secure a thumping 8-wicket win for the co-hosts. That win ensures Sri Lanka qualify for the Super 8 with a game to spare while leaving Australia facing the prospect of an embarrassing early exit with their fate no longer in their own hands.
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