On Wednesday, they believed Tillakaratne Dilshan had been wrongly given out by Nigel Llong, and on Friday, Rahul Dravid was wrongly adjudged not out, again by the English umpire, when he nicked Rangana Herath to Prasanna Jayawardene early in the day. It’s another matter that Dravid didn’t make the most of that let-off.

“The question that’s got to be asked is why the system is being used in every other series barring this one,” said coach Trevor Bayliss, referring to the use of the UDRS in the Australia-West Indies and New Zealand-Pakistan Tests currently under way.

“When the ICC said that it should be used after October 1, no one’s explained to us yet why it’s not being used here when it’s being used everywhere else in the world.”

Unbelievable batting

At the same time, Bayliss didn’t shy away from heaping praise on Virender Sehwag for his epic 293. “We were up against some unbelievable batting from Sehwag,” Bayliss acknowledged. “The guys tried most things -- different field placings, bowling different sides of the wicket. But he was skilful enough to put it away into the gaps. It was one of those days when you needed 20 fielders out there.”

Bayliss disagreed with suggestions that oppositions underrated Sehwag’s skills. “He is certainly not underrated by the players he plays against,” said the Aussie-born coach.
“They know how destructive he can be, and how good Rahul Dravid is as well with his record. Sehwag might have been overshadowed by someone like Tendulkar over the years, but certainly not underrated by the players he plays against.”

333 in arrears on the first innings, Sri Lanka will resume day four on 11 without loss. “From a win point of view, it just doesn’t look right at the moment,” Bayliss conceded. “But if our top-order batters can get us off to a good start and bat for a long time, there is no reason why we can’t score 400 tomorrow. Obviously, that’s going to be difficult, it needs some very hard work.

“From a win point of view, chasing 150 on a wearing wicket is probably the best we could hope for at this stage. But with two days to go, I am not sure how the pitch is going to play. It’s starting to take a little bit of turn. At this stage, it’s been a good cricket wicket.”