Galle: Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene on Saturday admitted that India had the edge going into the fourth day of the second Test.

The following are excerpts

Q: On the situation of the match

A: The Indians are slightly in front at this stage, but getting those two late wickets was crucial on our part. If they give a decent score we can chase it down. It’s an evenly-balanced Test. If we can get a few early wickets tomorrow (Sunday) that will be ideal.

On Harbhajan Singh’s bowling

If we had got a lead, it would have been brilliant. Harbhajan bowled very well. He picked up Thilan and Dilshan in quick succession and from that moment we were on the back-foot. I thought Harbhajan bowled really well. He created the pressure and got the breakthrough. Of the top six, he got five and that says it all. You should give credit to the way he bowled. Most of the guys got out to good balls.

If the pitch is offering turn

The wicket is turning, but we need to pitch it on the right areas and put the pressure. Even on the first day, Ajantha bowled well. Murali and Harbhajan did it afterwards. If you can survive and get into a rhythm, you can score runs. It’s a good Test wicket.

On India’s batting approach

They were batting cautiously and attacked occasionally. With Murali we tried to get a few early wickets and he bowled with a pretty new ball too. That’s not ideal for him. I was thinking we can create an opportunity. I am not that worried. When you have a top spinner, the batsman will bat cautiously. These couple of days, they probably batted well against him.

The controversy surrounding Dravid’s dismissal

The reason behind these referrals is to see whether the umpire has made a mistake. The space of time we have been given, I should be able to ask why he said not out. I needed to clarify why he said not out. I needed to know whether he had made a mistake. I was just clarifying. He said it pitched outside the off-stump. He gave the reason and then only I thought to go for the referral.