WHAT would transpire in a young cricketer's mind when he makes just one run in his first five Test innings? When his early hopes are snuffed out ruthlessly?
It is not such a nice feeling really. In the field of dreams, there is nowhere to hide... with reality lurking somewhere in a distant corner.
Confidence shattered, he becomes an object of ridicule. Morale dented, he gets stripped in public glare.
Then, for a moment, put yourself in Marvan Atapattu's shoes. A young cricketer, considered immensely talented, taking his first few steps in international cricket.
Soon arrives the Lankan's horrendous run of scores, and he finds himself out in the cold. With a huge question mark over his future. He must have gone through hell.
A lot of them never come back, and even if some actually did, the scars of the past prevent them from taking flight. Atapattu's career was clearly on the brink.
And then, with just a straw to clutch at, he manages to turn things around. The runs are flowing from the blade of this smooth-stroking right-hander.
Apart from his natural grace and elegance, Marvellous Marvan had also displayed the strength of mind to tide over difficult times. Given his rather soft exterior, there were some who believed he didn't quite possess the mental attributes.
Indeed, his is one of the most remarkable stories of modern day cricket. The man who failed to open his account on four occasions in his first five innings now has five Test double hundreds.
In the early days, the joke around was "We can't remember his face. Because we hardly get to see him at the crease!" Now, the 31-year-old Atapattu, by batting for long periods at the crease, has put an end to such jibes.
Atapattu could not quite compile a double century against India - a horrendous bat-pad decision by Dave Orchard in the third Test might have played a part too - but the Lankan's hundred at the Sinhalese Sports Club, also his home ground, was a beautifully compiled one.
He was solid in defence, his driving through the covers was glorious, both against pace and spin, off either foot, and he caressed the ball in the gaps on the on-side too.
A superbly balanced player, who can coax the ball into the empty spaces with soft hands and deft touch, Atapattu's calm presence in the middle is a reassuring sight for the Lankans during situations of adversity.
An unassuming, modest cricketer, he seldom gets ruffled. And even during moments of triumphs, all he will permit himself is a shy smile.
For most part, he lets the bat do the talking for him. Atapattu is unhurried in his methods, and has that little extra time while coping with the new ball, always a good sign.
The Lankan from Kalutara had threatened to score earlier in the series too, only to perish in the 40s, and his century could not have arrived at a better moment for Lanka with the series balanced on a razor's edge going into the decider in Colombo.
In fact, the Lankan had been on the look-out for a big score since his epic 201 not out in the first Test against England at Galle this year. But then he was not converting his starts. Was he worried?
"No I wasn't, because I was hitting the ball with the middle of the bat, and I just had to carry on to a big score," said Atapattu after his SSC effort.
Technically, he is the most accomplished player in the Lankan side, now that Aravinda de Silva doesn't appear to have too much fuel left in the tank. No wonder, coach Dav Whatmore wants him right at the top of the order.
There is more responsibility on him as well these days as the vice-captain. Indeed, he has come a long way since those dark moments early in his career, when he found himself blown away from international cricket.
It was against India at Chandigarh, 1990-91, that the Lankan began his quest into international cricket. And he was soon submerged under a heap of failures.
Atapattu, however, continued making runs at the domestic level, where he was still highly rated, and when another opportunity to carve out an international career for himself arrived in 1997, the Lankan, conquering the fear of failures and self-doubts, grabbed the chance.
Since then he has been among the more consistent performers in the Lankan side. A stabilising influence in a line-up of strokemakers.
He now has 2845 runs in 48 Tests at 37.43, an astonishing five out of his eight three-figure knocks being double centuries. When his sights are set, he carries on till Kingdom come.
A look at his double hundreds presents interesting reading. Two of them have surfaced at Kandy's Asgiriya Stadium, that has an element of bounce in it for the pacemen - 223 vs Zimbabwe, '98, and 207 vs Pakistan, 2000. The effort against the fiery Pakistan pace attack was particularly praiseworthy.
Atapattu scored one more double century against Zimbabwe, 216 not out at Harare, '99, and this season has already notched up two more, 201 not out vs England at Galle, and his latest effort against Bangladesh at the SSC.
And the Indians will remember Atapattu's immaculate hundred in the Mohali Test of '97, where his knock went a long way in Lanka eventually saving the match.
At a place where he made a disastrous start to Test cricket, Atapattu had managed to put his career back on the road. Along the way, he had displayed courage and resilience when he could so easily have shut shop and taken the easy way out.
He has a very useful record in ODIs too, with 4259 runs from 133 games at 37.03, the five hundreds being the icing on the cake. He has the ability to score at a good clip, without resorting to the huge hits. He is a deceptively good fielder too, with an accurate throw to boot.
Yet, a welter of one-day cricket might have also resulted in a slight flaw creeping into his otherwise impressive technique. There have been occasions in the recent past when Atapattu has pushed at short of a good length deliveries outside the off-stump from the pacemen, often nicking them into the cordon. A habit he could well avoid.
A flexible cricketer - he can also bat competently in the middle-order being a fluent player of spin - Atapattu has formed a fine opening partnership with skipper Sanath Jayasuriya.
They complement each other. Jayasuriya is explosive in his methods, someone who can rewrite the match-script in little time with big strokes.
And Atapattu? He's like a cool breeze that often blows across the grounds in Sri Lanka. Remember, the same man was in the midst of a "personal storm" early on. That tells the story.
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