Sharjah: Sri Lanka crawled to 133-5 for an overall lead of 220 runs as Pakistan pushed its bid to square the series on the fourth day of the third test on Sunday.
Sri Lanka lost the vital wicket of Mahela Jayawardene (46) off 144 balls just before the close after Pakistan was bowled out for 341 and conceded an 87-run first innings lead.
Captain Angelo Mathews was holding the fort on 14 and Prasanna Jayawardene was not out on 6, with both batsmen surviving dropped catches.
Left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman (2-36) got the two crucial wickets of Kaushal Silva and Kumar Sangakkara while fast bowler Mohammad Talha (2-36) removed Dinesh Chandimal. Jayawardene was caught close to the wicket off Saeed Ajmal just before stumps were drawn for the day.
"We just need five more wickets quickly so I think it's very important first hour tomorrow," Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore, who will leave the job after the third test, said.
"Every game we play, we play to win so we will go all out to do the best we can to achieve that result."
