Close Sri Lanka 343 for 3 (Sangakkara 126*, Jayawardene 99) trail West Indies (448 all out) by 105 runs
Scorecard

The day belonged to Sri Lanka as they ate away at West Indies' lead in the face of poor bowling on a benign pitch. A patient century by Kumar Sangakkara and a heartbreaking 99 by Mahela Jayawardene left the West Indies with the daunting prospect of facing Muttiah Muralitharan on a turning fifth day-wicket. It was a far cry from 48 hours earlier, when Carl Hooper was more concerned about just how long he should keep the Sri Lankans in the field.

Rarely have predictions that a pitch would deteriorate from the off been so wide of the mark. In seven of the nine sessions during this match just one wicket has fallen (and in the curtailed last session today not one was taken). Both of today's two wickets, Marvan Atapattu in the morning and Jayawardene in the afternoon, were due to batsman error, which only emphasised the benign nature of the pitch.

Atapattu was as much a victim of a lapse in concentration as good bowling. He reached forward defensively to legspinner Dinanath Ramnarine but his bat was slightly angled; the ball took the edge and Brian Lara held a routine catch at first slip to send Atapattu back for 61 (146 for 2). Jayawardene was undone by nerves. Needing one for his century he called Sangakkara for a quick single to midwicket which in normal circumstances he would not have contemplated. Marlon Samuels's direct hit left Jayawardene far enough out at the non-striker's end that he did not even wait for the third umpire's decision (308 for 3). It was an inglorious end to an innings which contained some exquisite cuts.

Sangakkara reached his second Test hundred in a little over five hours. Like Jayawardene, he punished the poor width and line of the West Indies attack, scoring the bulk of his runs behind square on the off side. Sangakkara's was very much an anchor role but he did have one escape when he was dropped at deep midwicket after he miscued an attempted hit off Ramnarine back over his head. It was a rare lapse in concentration and, on a pitch where chances did not come often, it was a mistake the West Indies could not afford.

After his heroics yesterday, Muttiah Muralitharan said that he was hoping for a first-innings lead of around 150 or 200, to give him something to bowl at. Given the impotence of the West Indies bowlers this morning, he might have an even bigger lead to attack.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd