Match evenly poised, says Dilshan

Tillakaratne Dilshan said the third Test was evenly poised after the first day’s play.

Asked about the umpiring error that led to his dismissal and whether the referral system should have been in place in this series he said, “Had the referral system been there, I would still have been batting.”

The Sri Lankan, who notched up his 11th Test hundred, said, “We would look to go past the 400-run mark tomorrow (on Thursday). With Angelo (Mathews) in good nick, it is possible.”

Good wicket

Dilshan said the pitch at Brabourne was good for Test cricket. “There is something for both the batsmen and the bowlers,” he said.

The opener felt Sri Lanka had a good chance to level the series here. “The pitch here could offer more turn and Murali could be dangerous.”

He was pleased with his effort and said the conditions were difficult for batting in the first session. “I needed to apply myself since the ball was seaming around,” he said.

Harbhajan Singh, who picked up four wickets on day one, also felt the surface here encouraged both the batsmen and the bowlers. “There is good bounce in the surface which is good for both the batsmen and the bowlers,” he said.

Harbhajan conceded that the Indians had not been at their best with the ball. “Probably we could have been tighter. We, perhaps, tried too many things and ended up conceding more runs. Our energy levels were not great in the last session and we could have bowled and fielded better. We might have conceded about 40 runs extra,” the off-spinner said.

Crucial role

He believed India had the batting to take the fight to the Sri Lankan camp in the Test. “We have the batting. I think the kind of start that Sehwag could give us is very important. We have batsmen who are familiar with Muralitharan.”

Harbhajan said the pitch eased out for batting in the second half of the day. “Still, there was always some assistance for the bowlers. If the pacemen bowled in the right areas, they could get the ball to seam around,” he said.