Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene believes that the "gamble" to put Pakistan in to bat in the second Test did not pay off.

The match was eventually drawn, but Jayawardene believes that by not getting the early Pakistan wickets he was hoping for the decision to field will have to go down as a mistake, as Pakistan racked up 551 in their first innings.

Quoted in Cricinfo, Jayawardene said: "It was a gamble in a way, but not a very good one, and we almost paid the price for that."

The opener also said his team had to work harder to stop the Pakistan top order making runs.

"We need to push ourselves harder and find a way of winning that Test match," he said. "We need to be more sharp in executing certain game plans, and make sure we don't allow their top order to dominate so easily and try to create more pressure."

Sri Lanka take a 1-0 series lead into the third and final Test in Pallekele.