Sri Lanka’s coach Trevor Bayliss rued the dropped catch off Indian opener Virender Sehwag that cost the tourists dearly in the second Test Match here as the right-handed batsman went onto post his second Test century against Sri Lanka yesterday. After India opted to bat first, Chanaka Welagedara induced an outside edge of the batsman only for wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene to dive in front of first slip and prevent what would have been a straight forward catch to first slip. Sehwag was yet to open his account then and brought up his 16th Test hundred in just 97 deliveries.

"It would have been nice to take that chance and that could have changed the complexion of the game. You never know what would have happened had we taken that catch. We could have put the next guy under pressure and maybe taken a few wickets like we did in the first Test," the Sri Lankan coach said addressing the media.

The Sri Lankan coach also conceded that it was tough for his players on a dead track that offered no assistance whatsoever for the bowlers. "It was a very tough day for us. It wasn’t easy to stop the flow of runs. Little bit of off line or a fraction short, the batsmen would rock back and hit it away. The scope for error was not very large. The first hour was a good one and the pleasing thing was that they made the last hour a good one as well by showing some character."

"They tried as much as they possibly could to stop the flow of runs. Kumar was talking to them and they were trying different field placing and different lines. I don’ think we could have tried anything more with Sehwag in that type of mood. Amidst that kind of onslaught, anyone could feel under pressure to put the ball on the right spot," he added. Comparing the wicket at Ahmedabad to Kanpur, Bayliss said that at least the track in the first Test offered some bounce for the bowlers.

"Ahmedabad was little bit quicker. It had some carry for the bowlers, but this one had even less. Hopefully it will stay like that for the next few days when we bat." Bayliss was also asked whether Sri Lanka could have been better off with an additional fast bowler than a spinner.

"Hindsight is a great thing isn’t it. Maybe we could have done that considering the two pace bowlers were our best bowlers today. They were able to bowl nice and straight and made it a bit more difficult to make runs. You never know. You have three spinners and you need to look forward to play well in this Test Match.