An unbeaten 98-run stand from Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene put Sri Lanka ahead of Pakistan ending the third day with the lead of 165 runs with 8 wickets remaining.
Pakistan started the day 76 short of Sri Lanka’s total.
Sarfraz Ahmed lost Abdur Rehman after a 40-run stand – the batsman edging Rangana Herath to Mahela Jayawardene at first slip then Wahab Riaz, who scored 17.
It was Sarfaraz, who helped Pakistan take a slender 12-run lead. He scored 103 runs off 127 balls. He became the first Pakistan wicketkeeper to hit a century – his first in Tests – since Kamran Akmal’s unbeaten 158 against Sri Lanka in Karachi in February 2009.
Left-arm spinner, Herath troubled the Pakistan batting line-up with a career-best nine-wicket haul. He bowled 33.1 overs and conceded 127 runs.
Furthermore, Herath becomes the first bowler since Muttiah Muralitharan, in 2002, to bag a nine-wicket haul.
On the other hand, he already has 18 dismissals this series, and will have his eye on Murali’s record of 22 wickets in a two-match Test series.
Batting in their second inning Sri Lanka lost two wickets at 79. Upul Tharanga was the first man to depart scoring 45 followed by Kaushal Silva(17).
Since then, Sangakkara-Jayawardene batting together for the last time in Tests, blunted the Pakistan spinners during a period where they were extracting help from the pitch and added an unbeaten 98 runs to drive Sri Lanka into a strong position.
Pakistan faced difficulty in the absence of Junaid Khan, who had been hit on the right side of his helmet grille by a Dhammika Prasad bouncer in the 91st over of Pakistan’s innings but stayed on and remained unbeaten on 13.
And according to PCB sources, Junaid was taken to hospital for medical assistance after he lost his balance in the dressing room.
Sangakkara scored another half-century in the last over of the day while Jayawardene ended the day on 49*.
