Penny pleased the way Sri Lanka finished

Sa'adi Thawfeeq reporting from Kandy

CRICKET: Acting coach Trevor Penny said that he was pleased the way Sri Lanka finished the first day of the second cricket Test at the Asgiriya Stadium yesterday after they ended on 267-8 after being put in to bat first.

"The way the ball was moving around this morning we could have been bowled out by tea time. But (Kumar) Sangakkara and (Tilan) Samaraweera really played well to get us out of a hole at 61-3," said Penny.

"I think if we had bowled first we'd have out by now. Obviously, we'd prefer to be four or five down rather then eight, but I think its honours even at the moment," he said. Penny said the pitch had got flatter as the ball got older and once the new ball was taken it started to seam around again. "I think it will stay seaming for the next couple of days and we were quite pleased to see some turn out there," said Penny.

"(Mohammed) Asif bowled well in the last Test and beautifully today. He hit a good length and moved the ball both ways making it very difficult for our batsmen," he said. Penny said that Farveez Maharoof bowled beautiful in the last Test and that he could do exactly the same job here.

"We also have (Nuwan) Kulasekera and some pace from (Lasith) Malinga. While Asif bowled really well, I didn't think their other seamers backed him up well," he said.

Penny who is standing by for coach Tom Moody who is away in England for a family bereavment said he enjoyed the experience of coach. "I have not been speaking to Tom but he has been text messaging the manager all the time. I think he is quite pleased too with our performance.

Conditions helped me - Asif

Pakistan fast bowler Mohammed Asif said he revelled in the conditions at the Asgiriya Stadium to take a career best five for 41.

"It was very hot at the SSC and it was hard bowling a second spell. But here the weather is cool. That's why I continued bowling a long first spell keeping line and length," said Asif. Asif and Tillakaratne Dilshan exchanged a few words in the middle after Dilshan had driven him off the backfoot for four through the covers.

"I don't think I had anything with Dilshan," said Asif. "It was just one of those things between a batsman and a bowler. Sometimes you have to do something to get the batsmen into making a mistake." Dilshan fell to leg-spinner Danish Kaneria after tea for 22.

Asif said that he was after Sanath Jayasuriya's wicket after he had read him on the internet saying that he wanted to finish off his final Test match on a big note.

"I told myself that I will try my best and not let him have his way," said Asif.