Gilchrist - 'I was pleased to make an impact'

Australia had taken up a commanding position by the end of the second day's play at Kandy, thanks to an unbeaten 140 from Adam Gilchrist. It was his tenth Test century, but his first for seven Tests and five months, and afterwards Gilchrist expressed his relief at being back in the runs. "It's really pleasing to make an impact in this series," he said, "as I have been a bit dry this summer."

Gilchrist was pushed in at No. 3 in a bold statement of intent by the Australian camp, after Ricky Ponting had to receive treatment after straining his back in the field. "When we came off [at the end of the Sri Lankan innings], Ricky asked me what I thought about everyone moving up one place in the order. But I figured I should do the moving to lessen the disruption, as everyone has being scoring well in their positions.

"I went back to Punter and he said that Buc [John Buchanan, the coach] had also agreed with the idea. It was nice to get in and get past that initial ten-minute spell and give myself the best chance. It felt much clearer in my head today and I looked to play as straight as possible."

Gilchrist insisted he had not been unduly worried about his form, although it had been playing on his mind a touch. "When you get a few low scores, no matter who you are you start searching for those next runs," he admitted. "Maybe you aren't thinking quite clearly enough when you do go in.

He certainly didn't find any of those demons that had been present in the pitch on the first day. "I thought it played pretty well," he added. "It looked like it wasn't turning as sharply as yesterday, with the moisture disappearing a little bit. It's probably at its best for batting today and tomorrow, so it is still very important for us to push on from here.

"It is hard to know what sort of numbers we need, because it is so early in the game."