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All's well that ends well

AFP, Johannesburg
Sanath Jayasuriya's Sri Lanka emerged unscathed after a topsyturvy week at the World Cup when they swung between the sublime and the ridiculous before qualifying for the Super Sixes.
Last Monday, the 1996 champions were in danger of being eliminated when they crashed to a stunning 53-run defeat against Kenya at Nairobi, a performance Jayasuriya described as amateurish.
Four days later, they braved a heroic display by Ramnaresh Sarwan to oust the West Indies by six runs under the Newlands lights at Cape Town.
Facing a do-or-die clash against South Africa on Monday, the Sri Lankans allowed themselves to be distracted by run-rate rules, complained to the International Cricket Council and then took the field under protest after their appeal was rejected.
Luckily for Sri Lanka, Marvan Atapattu hammered a super century, veteran Aravinda De Silva struck form and the South Africans forget to bring a calculator to the ground.
By the 34th over of South Africa's innings, the Sri Lankans knew they had qualified for the Super Sixes and took New Zealand along with them as the hosts were knocked out.
Sri Lanka will learn later on Tuesday if they have topped Pool B or come second, depending on whether qualifiers Kenya defeat the West Indies or lose to them.
What is certain, however, is that Sri Lanka will carry with them 7.5 points into the Super Sixes, a huge cushion but not big enough to guarantee a place in the semifinals.
Among the other qualifiers, reigning champions Australia will carry forward a maximum 12 points, India 10 points and Kenya a whopping 11 if they defeat the West Indies or 10 if they lose.
Teams take forward four points for winning in the first stage against a fellow qualifier, one point for winning against a non-qualifier and half a point in case of a washout or a tie.
"It would have been good to have more points, but at least we are there," Jayasuriya said.
"It is now up to us to play our three Super Six games well. I am not looking at the semi-final or the final yet."
Jayasuriya has led the way with 269 runs while Chaminda Vaas is the tournament's leading bowler with 16 wickets while Muttiah Muralitharan has 12.
Two months ago, however, few would have given Sri Lanka a chance after being crushed on tours of South Africa and Australia.
But they began the World Cup well with a 47-run win over New Zealand, before bulldozing Bangladesh and Canada so convincingly that records tumbled like nine pins.
The nine-wicket romp over Canada at Paarl lasted just two hours and 23.3 overs, the shortest match in the 28-year-old history of the World Cup.
Before that, Vaas had grabbed a sensational hat-trick with the first three balls of the match against Bangladesh and added a fourth wicket with the fifth delivery.
The Sri Lankans came to South Africa having won just two of their 11 one-dayers in this country. Now they have won four, lost one, surprisingly against Kenya, and tied against South Africa on Monday night.
Jayasuriya attributes the change
in fortunes to the time spent in South Africa and Australia before the World Cup.
"We don't get these sort of wickets in Sri Lanka," the dashing left-hander said.
"Playing in these conditions for three months, both here and in Australia, we have got used to them and know what to expect.
"Everyone in the side knows the conditions. That's a big help and that's why we are playing such good cricket."