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India slightly in front: Jayawardene

Special Correspondent

Galle: Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, conceded that India was ahead after three days of the second Test, but said that his side mustn’t be counted out.

“The Indians are slightly in front at this stage, but getting those two late wickets was crucial on our part,” said Jayawardene. “If they give a decent score we can chase it down.”

What exactly does “decent” mean? “We’ll get 400. If they get 500, we go and get 500. That’s the attitude we have got. Nothing is difficult for us.”

Focal point

Although Jayawardene found time to compliment Harbhajan Singh for taking six wickets, praise the pitch here at the Galle InternationalStadium for producing superb cricket, and modestly accept accolades for an excellent 86, he spent a large portion of the post-day press conference clarifying his decision to ask the umpires for a review of the leg-before decision against Rahul Dravid.

Jayawardene spoke to umpire Billy Doctrove before asking for the referral. What did it involve? “I needed to clarify why he said not out,” he replied. “I needed to know whether he had made a mistake. I was just clarifying.”

Didn’t he take too long to make the appeal? “They have said we can’t ask from our dressing room, but it has to be done quickly. They haven’t given us a time frame, but common sense should come into play,” said Jayawardene.

“They have given us time to ask a few people like the wicketkeeper and the bowlers and at the same time, I can ask the umpire too. Especially with the lbws, the umpire is the one who is making the mistake and I need to ask him. It was so close, it wasn’t sure whether it (struck the pad) inside or outside (the line of off-stump). The referral is all about obvious mistakes. Not that the third umpire takes a decision for himself. There’s a conversation.” Although Dravid slammed his bat against the turf as he walked off, Virtual Eye, the ball-tracking software which is being used thisseries, projected that the ball would have hit middle-stump.

Gautam Gambhir, who is rapidly establishing himself among the best players of spin in world cricket, spoke on what the art required after making a half-century on Saturday.

“I play so much of spin in domestic cricket on similar tracks that offer spin, turn and bounce and that is what has worked for me,” said the left-handed opener. “Sri Lanka have a quality attack, especially in their back yard. It is difficult to work out a plan against them. You have just got to react to the ball. You can’t be predetermined because Mendis and Murali are quality bowlers with so much variety.”

Important thing

Gambhir said it was important to watch closely the spinner’s hand. Did he pick Mendis from the hand? “It is important to pick him from his fingers,” he replied. “Most of his variations come from his fingers. I have handled him well and hope it continues till the end of the series.”

Despite his quality against spin, Gambhir was bowled by a curving Mendis off-break, which he misjudged and left. “The ball was drifting a bit, and the one that got me drifted much more. I am disappointed at not having made a 100.”

During a phase of play on day three, Gambhir took much of Mendis. Was he shielding Dravid, who has had trouble with the mystery spinner? “I don’t think so,” said Gambhir. “He is a quality player with more than 10,000 Test runs. Test cricket is all about playing in partnerships. It was never a conscious effort.”

Asked about Dravid’s dismissal, Gambhir said, “It’s part and parcel of the game. You don’t get the rub of the green going your way sometimes and have to take these things in your stride. The important thing is we are in a good position at the moment.”

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