except bowl in the right areas.
“He was slogging till the end. What we can do is set a field, set a plan and bowl according to that plan, so that the captain does not look like a fool on the ground.”
Sharma said the team had not talked of what would be a good score to defend in the fourth innings.
“To be honest, we have not yet set a score,” he said. “The situation is challenging. Hopefully we can get to what we got in the first innings and give them a good target to chase.”
Perera said it could be anyone’s match on the lively pitch.
“The wicket is quite lively and the match is wide open,” he said. “If we can take quick wickets tomorrow there is a good chance we can win this Test. The morning session will be crucial for both teams.”
Pujara, who marked his recall to the Indian Test side with an unbeaten 145 in the first innings, was bowled by Dhammika Prasad for a second-ball duck in his second knock.
Seamer Nuwan Pradeep then bowled Lokesh Rahul and trapped Ajinkya Rahane leg-before to leave India on 7-3. Skipper Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma played out time before heavy rain ended play 35 minutes early.
Pujara had been dropped for India’s last four Tests across Australia, Bangladesh and the ongoing series. And he might have missed this match had both regular openers Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan been fit.
The 27-year-old, who usually bats at number three, notched up his seventh Test century and become only the fourth Indian after Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag to bat through the innings.
Sri Lanka won the opening Test in Galle by 63 runs but India drew level with a 278-run win in the second match at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo on Monday.
Score Board
Sri Lanka won toss
India 1st innings 312 all-out (C Pujara 145; Prasad 4-100)
Sri Lanka 1st innings
W U Tharanga c Rahul b I Sharma 4
J K Silva b Yadav 3
F D M Karunaratne c Rahul b Binny 11
L D Chandimal lbw b Binny 23
*A D Mathews c Ojha b I Sharma 1
H D R L Thirimanne c Rahul b I Sharma 0
†M D K J Perera c Kohli b I Sharma 55
K T G D Prasad st Ojha b Mishra 27
H M R K B Herath c Ojha b I Sharma 49
P H T Kaushal lbw b Mishra 16
N Pradeep not out 2
Extras (lb 1, w 2, nb 7) 10
Total (all out; 52.2 overs) 201
Fall: 1-11, 2-11, 3-40, 4-45, 5-47, 6-47, 6-48*, 7-127, 8-156, 9-183, 10-201
Bowling: I Sharma 15-2-54-5 (6nb, 1w); Yadav 13-2-64-1; Binny 9-3-24-2 (1w); Ashwin 8-1-33-0; Mishra 7.2-1-25-2 (1nb)
India 2nd innings
C A Pujara b Prasad 0
K L Rahul b Pradeep 2
A M Rahane lbw b Pradeep 4
*V Kohli not out 1
R G Sharma not out 14
Extras 0
Total (3 wickets; 8.1 overs) 21
To bat: †N V Ojha, S T R Binny, R Ashwin, A Mishra, I Sharma, U T Yadav
Fall: 1-0, 2-2, 3-7
Bowling: Prasad 4.1-2-8-1; Pradeep 3-1-6-2; Herath 1-0-7-0
Umpires: N J Llong (England) and R J Tucker (Australia). TV umpire: R R Wimalasiri. Match referee: A J Pycroft (Zimbabwe)