Close Sri Lanka 274 for 9 (M Jayawardene 104, C Vaas 42*)
India would gladly have accepted 274 for 9 had Sri Lanka opted to bat, but after they sent them in and then nipped out the first five for 138, it was an opportunity not fully exploited. And Mahela Jayawardene's sight-for-sore-eyes century ensured that the day will be remembered as Sri Lanka's.

Jayawardene scored most of his runs with the pull and interspersed it with some stunningly easy blows over the infield. Importantly, for a man inclined to throw away good starts, he refused to be lulled into a false stroke today.

The other significant contribution was from Chaminda Vaas late in the day. His was an innings of fits and starts, blocking ten balls and then blasting a flurry of boundaries. He ended the day on 42 and could possibly guide Sri Lanka past 300 tomorrow.

For the best part of the day, the Indian bowling was a two-man army comprising Zaheer Khan and Sourav Ganguly. Zaheer ended with 3 for 62. Venkatesh Prasad, erratic and insipid in the morning, tightened up in the latter part of the day and was rewarded with the wicket of Jayawardene.

It was a rollercoaster day of cricket. India drew first blood when Sanath Jayasuriya was run out with the score on 18. Kumar Sangakkara and Marvan Atapattu feasted on some ordinary bowling and added 64 runs in quick time, before the loss of both their wickets on the stroke of lunch had Sri Lanka in trouble.

Ganguly and Zaheer emerged from lunch with a renewed sense of purpose and choked the flow of runs. Zaheer found Russel Arnold's edge with a three-card trick (two inswingers and an outswinger) and Hashan Tillekeratne gifted away his wicket to Prasad with a poor cut shot that was pouched by the keeper. Sri Lanka had now slumped to 138 for five.

But Jayawardene's raced away to his sixth Test hundred to dig his team out of a hole, and the late flourish from Vaas finally provided Sri Lanka with a slight advantage.

5.25pm Sri Lanka 232 for 7 (M Jayawardene 104 out, C Vaas 10*)
Venkatesh Prasad silenced Sri Lanka's late cheer by dismissing Mahela Jayawardene just after after he had completed a delightful century. Prasad bowled the perfect leg-cutter, which caught Jayawardene's outside edge on the way to Sameer Dighe.

It was Jayawardene's sixth Test century, full of exhilarating pulls and effortless lofted shots. India were so appreciative of the innings that they pushed him along from 94 to 99, with five overthrows. He reached three figures with an arrogant bended-knee loft which went one bounce into the midwicket fence off Harbhajan Singh.

5.20pm Sri Lanka 232 for 6 (M Jayawardene 104* , C Vaas 10*)
Mahela Jayawardene completed a rapid century and dragged Sri Lanka to a position of respectability after they had slithered to 138 for 5 at Kandy today. India picked up one wicket after tea, but the momentum was back with Sri Lanka, who lead the series 1-0.

Zaheer Khan and Sourav Ganguly took the ball after the break, looking to repeat the success they found at the same stage in the second session. Jayawardene rose to the challenge by taking 11 off a single over from Ganguly's medium-pacers. Ganguly did, however, break a fast-growing sixth-wicket partnership by trapping Suresh Perera lbw with an inswinger for 18.

Not one to potter about, Jayawardene glided and glanced Zaheer for two successive fours. The following over, he lofted Ganguly back over his head with disdainful ease. Zaheer's figures took another minor beating when Chaminda Vaas broke out of his self-imposed shell and pummelled him over midwicket.

3.40pm, tea Sri Lanka 167 for 5 (M Jayawardene 61*, S Perera 9*)

The first 22.1 overs of the day belonged to Sri Lanka, but India took charge since to dismiss half the team by tea. Sri Lanka's hopes now rest on Mahela Jayawardene who is in the middle of a special innings. The runs have not only been made with his customary elegance, but they have been scored in a crisis. He got off the mark with a glorious straight drive sandwiched between the dismissals of Kumar Sangakkara and Marvan Atapattu on the stroke of lunch. He barely drove in the second session, but pulled ruthlessly, singling out Venkatesh Prasad for most of the treatment.

Two wickets fell after lunch, those of Russel Arnold and Hashan Tillekeratne. Zaheer prised out Arnold with the classic swing bowler's set-up - a series of inswingers followed by the one that moves away. Having left the previous two balls alone, Arnold prodded defensively forward but the ball caught the outside edge and carried to Rahul Dravid at first slip. Tillekeratne gave his wicket away attempting to cut a short and wide delivery and edging it to the keeper.

Suresh Perera has chipped in with nine, including an effortless six over long-on off Harbhajan Singh a few minutes before tea.

3.10pm Sri Lanka 130 for 5 (M Jayawardene 41*, S Perera 0*)
Sri Lanka slumped further into despair, losing their fifth wicket with the score on 134. Hashan Tillekeratne (10) looked every inch a man playing his second Test in two years, not quite sure where his off stump was. He was out trying to cut a short and alarmingly wide delivery from Venkatesh Prasad that found the under-edge on the way to the keeper.

The dismissal was against the run of play as Mahela Jayawardene had led a mini-revival through some typically exquisite strokeplay when Zaheer Khan and Sourav Ganguly gave way to Prasad and Harvinder Singh. Prasad twice pitched short, and each time he was pulled away for four as Jayawardene changed gear

1.30pm Sri Lanka 108 for 4 (M Jayawardene 22*, H Tillekeratne 1*)
Russel Arnold was the fourth batsman out as the unlikely duo of Zaheer Khan and Sourav Ganguly continued to choke Sri Lanka after lunch.

Zaheer eked out the wicket of Arnold with the classic swing-bowler's set-up - a series of inswingers followed by the one that moves away. Having left the previous two balls alone, Arnold prodded defensively forward but the ball caught the outside edge and carried to Rahul Dravid at first slip.

The only hint of Sri Lankan authority in the last half hour or so has been a beautifully executed hook shot by Jayawardene off Ganguly just behind square.

Ganguly and Zaheer have bowled unchanged since lunch, and Harbhajan Singh has yet to be required.

1pm Sri Lanka 97 for 3 (M Jayawardene 13*, R Arnold 5*)
Russel Arnold and Mahela Jayawadene survived a excellent spell of swing bowling from Sourav Ganguly and Zaheer Khan after lunch.

The second torrential shower of the morning meant that the lunch interval was extended by 20 minutes. On resumption, Zaheer and Ganguly kept it straight and hit the seam regularly to take advantage of the moisture in the pitch.

Ganguly's nagging length had Jayawardene hooking unconvincingly at a marginally short delivery and barely clearing the man at midwicket. Ganguly followed that with an outswinger that found the outside edge and rolled away to the third-man fence. Zaheer maintained the pressure by beating Arnold's bat three times in the following over.

11.30am, lunch Sri Lanka 82 for 3 (M Jayawardene 4*)
India grabbed two wickets in seven balls before lunch to neutralise the effect of Sri Lanka's brisk start. Marvan Atapattu and Kumar Sangakkara had taken the score to 82 when Sourav Ganguly, frustrated by the lack of discipline among his frontline bowlers and possibly wondering why on earth he had put Sri Lanka in, brought himself on. He started with a maiden before luring Sangakkara into an uppish drive to gully, where Sadagoppan Ramesh pouched his third outstanding catch of the series.

Zaheer Khan, the best pace bowler on view today, was immediately reintroduced into the attack and he struck with his second ball. Atapattu shouldered arms to a delivery marginally outside off, and the ball rocketed off the inside edge onto the stumps. He had made a breezy 39.

10.30am Sri Lanka 52 for 1 (M Atapattu 28*, K Sangakkara 18*)
Apart from losing Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka took all the points in the opening hour of the second Test. Ganguly's decision to bowl first showed not only a misplaced faith in his pace trio but also, as it turned out, in the pitch. Zaheer Khan did find some movement off the surface and in the air, but hardly enough to justify bowling first.

After running out Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu made amends by staying positive. He and Kumar Sangakkara never let the new ball dictate terms and took advantage of any error in line and length.

Zaheer Khan, driven silkily by Atapattu for two fours in his first over, was the only semblance of a threat. Harvinder Singh overpitched compulsively and was removed after three overs with the new ball. Venkatesh Prasad just could not find his groove, feeding Atapattu on the drive and Sangakkara on the cut.

10.00am Sri Lanka 18 for 1 (M Atapattu 13*, K Sangakkara 0*)
A schoolboy mix-up by the Sri Lankan openers gave India a vital early breakthrough. Sanath Jayasuriya neatly tucked Zaheer Khan to fine-leg and ran like a man always expecting two. Marvan Atapattu was more than content with just one and never once looked at his partner on reaching the striker's end. Jayasuriya eventually ran nearly three, but lost his wicket in the process.

9.45am Sri Lanka 9 for 0 (M Atapattu 8*, S Jayasuriya 1*)
Taking a leaf out of Sanath Jayasuriya's book, Sourav Ganguly won the toss and inserted Sri Lanka into bat. He does have three seamers at his disposal, but none with the pace of Dilhara Fernando or the guile of Chaminda Vaas.

Marvan Atapattu took first strike and wasted no time in making Ganguly think twice about his decision. The first ball, from Zaheer Khan, was driven classically down the ground for four and the third was stroked to the cover fence.

The pitch is expected to assist fast bowlers in the first session. Harvinder Singh, replacing Javagal Srinath, opened the bowling ahead of Venkatesh Prasad.

Sri Lanka reacted in typical fashion to another chucking report and included Suresh Perera in the XI, which left umpire TH Wijewardene as the day's only debutant.

Sri Lanka 1 Sanath Jayasuriya (capt), 2 Marvan Atapattu, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wkt), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Russel Arnold, 6 Hashan Tillekeratne, 7 Suresh Perera, 8 Chaminda Vaas, 9 Dilhara Fernando, 10 Ruchira Perera, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.

India 1 Shiv Sunder Das, 2 Sadagoppan Ramesh, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 5 Mohammad Kaif, 6 Hemang Badani, 7 Sameer Dighe (wkt), 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Harvinder Singh, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Venkatesh Prasad.

Rahul Bhattacharya is a staff writer with Wisden Online in India.

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