Sri Lanka 243 and 285 for 3 (Jayasuriya 131*, Sangakkara 59, Jayawardene 57) lead Pakistan 264 (Hameed 58, Herath 3-68) by 264 runs
The Sri Lankan batsmen made amends for their first-innings collapse and gained complete control of the game at the end of the third day at Faisalabad. Sanath Jayasuriya led the way with a grafting hundred and strung together some useful partnerships as Sri Lanka finished on 285 for 3, with a commanding lead of 264.
Jayasuriya's workmanlike hundred had some moments on the edge and his wild slash at the wide balls nearly got him out on a couple of occasions. He was out to a no-ball when he had made just 9, with Shoaib Akhtar marginally overstepping the mark, and a number of flashes landed just wide of the fieders. But he was completely assured against the spinners, sweeping Danish Kaneria forcefully and finding the gap with precision, and capitalised on the defensive fields that were set. He brought up his hundred, his 13th, by smashing Kaneria for a massive six over long-on and tore the bowling apart immediately after. The last 29 came in just 23 balls and a few cover-drives bisected the fielders perfectly.
Jayasuriya's innings strengthened their grip on the game, but the momentum was seized with Kumar Sangakkara's breezy knock. Sri Lanka got off to a shaky start with Marvan Atapattu falling to Shoaib in the first over and Sangakkara had to contend with a fired-up Shoaib, tearing in at full pelt and swinging it either way. But he counterattacked with a flurry of superbly struck fours, creaming five of them in a span of six balls, and Sri Lanka raced to 60 in the first ten. Sangakkara brought up his sixth half-century in his last eight innings before falling in the first ball after lunch, as he wafted at one from Shoaib (98 for 2). By then, though, the innings was firmly back on track.
Mahela Jayawardene picked up the baton, adding another 118 with Jayasuriya, as he blunted the pace attack and tormented the spinners. He was nearly bowled early in his innings, when he shouldered arms to an incutter from Abdul Razzaq, but cruised to his fifty from that point. He knocked the spinners off their length as he danced down the pitch beautifully and cut them fine when they dropped short. He fell to a perfectly pitched legbreak from Kaneria and his defensive prod resulted in the ball taking the edge on its way to Moin Khan (216 for 3).
Jayasuriya survived some tense moments in the 80s as he edged Shoaib twice as the ball landed wide of the slip cordon. There was also some uncertainty with the running and he nearly ran-out Thilan Samaraweera at the other end, as Yousuf Youhana missed the stumps from short midwicket. But he settled the nerves with some confident pushes against the spinners and shifted a gear once he passed the hundred. After being behind in the first four sessions of the Test, Sri Lanka were now in a position from where they could dictate terms.
The bowlers had begun the fightback last afternoon and they didn't have any problems in mopping up the Pakistan tailenders this morning. Shoaib was given lbw when he missed a straighter one from Rangana Herath, while Kaneria was run-out two overs later. After an excellent start to their innings, Pakistan's lead was just 21. Shoaib's early dismissal of Atapattu pointed to a low-scoring thriller, but the rest of the Sri Lankan batsmen had other ideas.