"We were too negative against Warne in the first match and Australia capitalised on it," Tillakaratne said on Monday, as his team prepared to square the three-Test series following a 197-run defeat in the first match.

Warne posed plenty of problems to the batsmen in his first Test after serving a 12-month drug-ban.

The Australian made history in the opening Test at Galle on Friday when he became the first spinner to capture 500 wickets during his match-haul of 10 scalps on a turning track.

None of the Sri Lankan batsmen could read Warne's shrewd variations in the second innings as the hosts were shot out for 154, chasing a target of 352.

Warne will again be Australia's trump card as they hope to clinch a Test series in the sub-continent after two unsuccessful attempts. They lost in Sri Lanka in 1999 and then in India two years later.

"No doubt, Warne is a world-class spinner, but I think we defended against him too much. We allowed him to bowl so many dot balls. We hope to play him better this time," said Tillakaratne.

The Sri Lankan captain said his team would have to play more competitive cricket against a formidable Australian squad.

"The first Test is history now. We have to rectify our mistakes and play really good cricket. We can do it as we have the home advantage."

The hosts will once again rely on off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan to keep pressure on a strong Australian batting line-up.

Muralitharan, himself just four wickets short of 500, was down with a stomach upset on Sunday but had now recovered to play on his home ground.

"He will be okay for the match. He complained of stomach upset last night, but it is not a major concern now," said Tillakaratne.

Muralitharan sat out nets on Sunday afternoon and then suffered from stomach cramps throughout the night.

After Monday morning's practice session was washed out, Muralitharan returned to his bedside for further rest.

Veteran opener Sanath Jayasuriya has also recovered from a hand injury sustained while bowling during the second innings of the first match.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting said his team was keen to wrap up the series with a victory here.

"It'll be nice to win here," he said. "Our object is to win each Test and we were in pretty good touch in the first match."

Ponting said his team's batting approach would be the same, but there could be changes in bowling depending on the weather.

"The batsmen have to attack as well as defend in these conditions and I think we have adapted to the conditions very well," he said.

Australia, who went into the first Test with two specialist spinners and as many fast bowlers, might be tempted to play three pacemen in view of the overcast conditions.

"It's hard to say now (of the team's composition). It depends on how the weather stays and how the pitch looks like in the morning," said Ponting.

Australia have unhappy memories of this ground, suffering their lone defeat here before losing the three-Test series 1-0 in 1999 under Steve Waugh's captaincy.

Waugh and fast bowler Jason Gillespie were involved in a nasty on-field collision. Waugh fractured his nose, while Gillespie broke his leg and did not play cricket for nearly a year.

TEAMS
AUSTRALIA (from): Ricky Ponting (captain), Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn, Darren Lehmann, Andrew Symonds, Simon Katich, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz, Stuart MacGill, Shaun Tait, Brad Williams, Wade Seccombe.

SRI LANKA (from): Hashan Tillakaratne (captain), Marvan Atapattu, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Thilan Samaraweera, Chaminda Vaas, Upul Chandana, Rangana Herath, Muttiah Muralitharan, Nuwan Zoysa, Avishka Gunawardene, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Nuwan Kulasekara.