A heroic tale falls flat

Marvan Atapattu defied medical advice and went into bat but could only manage 10 minutes at the crease before retiring hurt.

Atapattu had been advised complete rest by the doctors after suffering concussion and an ankle injury during a midfield collision with New Zealander Daniel Vettori yesterday. He had to be removed from the field in an ambulance and taken to hospital. Atapattu went to the ground in the afternoon and told the team management he wanted to bat. Atapattu joined Tillakaratne to add three runs in 10 minutes, before the tea interval. Feeling giddy and complaining of a severe headache, Atapattu did not resume his innings after the break. Reuters