Asked if he might have played more carefully after India lost four wickets, Sehwag said: “It does look that way when you get out, but I always back myself and play my shots. How can I stop that? If the ball is there to be hit I hit it. You sometimes do think, ‘What if I play a shot and get out after four wickets have fallen?’, but if you don’t play your shots how will you make runs?”

On the failures of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, and Sourav Ganguly, who combined have fewer than 100 runs in three innings this tour, the 29-year-old said, “They all got out to good balls. The bowling was quality. Murali, Mendis and Vaas are the kind of bowlers who can bowl a good ball at any time and you have to play them carefully.”

Sehwag, who prepared for the innings by stretching and running 10 runs in the dressing room, said he picked Mendis off the wicket — another testament to his incredible bat-speed.

What did he make of the doubts surrounding Dravid’s wicket?

“I didn’t know for sure because I was at the non-striker’s end,” said Sehwag of the catch at short-leg, which was followed by the batsman walking.

“I had my doubts on whether the ball hit the helmet. Maybe it did hit the helmet, but if you yourself are not sure how can you ask the umpire? If the Sri Lankans knew that it hit the helmet and still appealed then the spirit was not right,” he concluded.

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