But that Harbhajan over changed a lot, not the least the look of the scoreboard which, at 192 for five, didn’t look so healthy anymore.

The Indians were back in the Test, and the series as well, and finally there was an Indian spinner with a broad smile on his face. The match that had been reduced to a Virender Sehwag vs Ajantha Mendis contest had seen Harbhajan Singh’s late entry into the script. And the relaxing locals were back on the edge of their seats.

For that crucial over, Harbhajan had gone around the wicket and like Murali in the first Test, the ploy paid dividends. First Samarweera was rapped on the pads while a playing a ball pitched on leg and moving towards middle stump. Two balls later, Gautam Gambhir gobbled up a bat-pad offering at short-leg from Tillakaratne Dilshan. No Indian bowler had managed to get in a swift one-two in the series so far and the Sri Lankans, if not on the ropes, were certainly wobbling.

Harbhajan’s figures of 24-4-71-4 meant Sri Lanka were 215/5 at the end of day two, still 114 runs short of India’s first innings score of 329 all out. As the off-spinner later said, India were in control but there were a couple of ‘ifs’ that needed to be taken care of.

The Jayawardenes — Mahela is on 46 not out and Prasanna on 5 not out — are at the crease with Chaminda Vaas to follow. “One more wicket and we are into the tail. But the key is to hold our catches and bowl in the right areas,” he said referring to two things that any cricketer will tell you are easier said than done.

But the interesting aspect of this match dominated by spinners is the wicket-takers. The two leading spinners in the world — Murali and Kumble — have bowled 49 unimpressive overs between them. While Kumble has been wicketless, Murali has just two tail-enders’ wickets to show. With the top two spinners not quite having it easy in Galle, the high-profile contest between the two grandmasters has been reduced to a duel between their seconds.

Both Mendis and Harbhajan had a point to make in this Test and they seem to have managed to do so forcefully. Mendis doesn’t seem to be having the second-Test blues as he finished with figures of 28-1-117-6. It’s a phenomenal achievement considering the bowler at the other end was Murali, someone who doesn’t believe in sharing the spoils at Galle.

The Harbhajan vs Mendis contest has made this Test a classic already and with three days to go, a result either way is almost a foregone conlusion. Unless, of course, the heavens open up.