With a double strike soon after lunch, Sri Lanka were in danger of following on, but an unbroken fifth-wicket stand worth 133 runs between Hashan Tillakaratne, used to such rearguard action, and Mahela Jayawardene, who needed to make up for his horrendous dropped catches yesterday, gave them a fighting chance of saving the game.

Having negotiated a testing spell from Shane Bond, New Zealand’s most penetrative bowler, Tillakaratne and Jayawardene settled down and were rarely troubled in the evening. Jayawardene put his dismal World Cup form to bed, easing his way to his 17th fifty, finishing the day on 58 not out. Tillakaratne, who came agonisingly close to being trapped lbw when padding up to Darryl Tuffey late on, was unbeaten on 71, his 19th half-century in Tests.

Sri Lanka were not out of trouble yet, but assuming that they score the 49 runs needed to avoid the follow on, they would expect to bat out the final day on a featherhead surface still offering the bowlers scant assistance. The first priority tomorrow will be seeing off the second new ball, which was taken minutes before the rain. Even if they did collapse spectacularly, Stephen Fleming may be forced to bat again to refresh his tired bowlers.

After their disastrous two overs on Saturday evening, when Marvan Atapattu had been dubiously adjudged lbw to the fifth ball of the innings, Sri Lanka had made a spirited start to the fourth day. Chaminda Vaas, the nightwatchman, scored just 4 before edging to Fleming at first slip, but Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya then rallied, adding 103 from 184 balls for the third wicket.

Sangakkara, freed from the exhausting burden of keeping wicket, was especially impressive. Aggressive from the outset, he kick-started his innings with a flurry of early boundaries off Bond. He should have been dismissed early, but the New Zealand catching was nearly as shoddy as Sri Lanka’s on the previous two days. Bond missed a low return catch when Sangakkara mistimed a punched drive on 11 and Fleming grassed a low chance at slip off Jacob Oram when on 23.

Undeterred, Sangakkara remained positive, greeting Daniel Vettori’s introduction with another string of boundaries. Aware that Vettori represented a key threat, Sangakkara disturbed his length, driving through the covers when full and sweeping in front of square when Vettori pulled back. He breezed to his tenth Test fifty off just 73 balls.

Jayasuriya – now back opening the innings after a failed experiment in the middle order during the last tour to South Africa – was slow in comparison but certainly no slouch. Characteristically strong through the off side, he completed his 23rd Test fifty in the last over after lunch.

Going into lunch on 114 for 2, Sri Lanka were well positioned. The pitch – slow and flat – held few fears and clear blue skies offered little encouragement for New Zealand’s pace bowlers. However, the cruel dismissal of Jayasuriya, who was bowled for 50, swung the initiative back to the visitors. Playing defensively, Jayasuriya jabbed down at a short delivery from Bond only to watch in horror as the ball bounced back over his head to neatly dislodge his leg-stump bail. (114 for 3).

Shortly afterwards, Sri Lanka slipped deeper into the mire when Sangakkara pressed the self-destruct button. Over eager to attack the offspin of Paul Wiseman, he walloped two straight boundaries but perished when aiming an expansive legside swat. The ball spun, took the leading edge and Oram held a fine catch running backwards from extra cover (134 for 4).

Bond, who troubled the batsman with his extra pace, finishing the day with 2 for 64, dominated the New Zealand bowling. Darryl Tuffey, his new-ball partner, and Oram were tight but rarely threatening. Wiseman’s best moment was the dismissal of Sangakkara while Vettori toiled away for 21 overs without success. ::Tea - Day 3::Sri Lanka 1st innings::New Zealand tighten grip New Zealand’s grip on the opening Test tightened on the third afternoon as a double strike soon after lunch left Sri Lanka struggling on 134 for four in their first innings. Hashan Tillakaratne and Mahela Jayawardene buckled down afterwards but New Zealand held all the cards at tea.

Tillakaratne, the Sri Lanka player most suited to such rearguard action, and Jayawardene, who needs to score heavily to compensate for the crucial catches spilled in the New Zealand first innings, added 59 for the fifth wicket after the loss of Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya.

With Sri Lanka playing just five specialist batsmen in the top order, the pair now have to take responsibility for scoring the bulk of 123 runs still required to avoid the follow on. Jayawardene was 40 not out and Tillakaratne 24 not out at the break.

Despite the early loss of Chaminda Vaas, the nightwatchman, dismissed for 4 by Shane Bond as he edged to Stephen Fleming at first slip, Sri Lanka had made a spirited start to the day with Sangakkara and Jayasuriya adding 103 from 184 balls for the third wicket.

Sangakkara, freed from the exhausting burden of keeping wicket, was in an aggressive mood from the outset, hitting a flurry of early boundaries, especially off Bond, who was glanced and clipped to the leg side fence and then driven straight down the ground.

He should have been dismissed early, the visitors’ catching proving as fallible as Sri Lanka’s on the previous two days. Bond missed a low return catch when he mistimed a punched drive on 11 and Stephen Fleming grassed a low chance at slip off Jacob Oram when on 23.

Undeterred, he remained positive, greeting Daniel Vettori’s introduction with another string of boundaries. Aware that Vettori represented a key threat, Sangakkara was messing with his length, pinging through the covers when full and sweeping in front of square when Vettori pulled back his length. He breezed to his tenth Test fifty off just 73 balls.

Jayasuriya – now back opening the innings after a failed experiment in the middle order during the last tour to South Africa – was slow in comparison but certainly no slouch. Characteristically strong through the off side he completed his 23rd Test fifty in the last over after lunch.

Going into lunch on 114 for two, Sri Lanka were well positioned. The pitch – slow and flat – held few fears and clear blue skies offered little encouragement for New Zealand’s pace bowlers.

However, the cruel dismissal of Jayasuriya, who was bowled for 50, swung the initiative back to the visitors. Playing defensively, the left-hander jabbed down on a short length Bond only to watch in horror as the ball bounced back onto to his off stump (114 for three).

Shortly afterwards, Sri Lanka slipped deeper into the mire when Sangakkara pressed the self-destruct button. Keen to attack the offspin of Paul Wiseman, he just walloped two straight boundaries when he perished aiming an expansive leg side swat. The ball spun and Jacob Oram took a fine catch running backwards from extra cover off the leading edge (134 for four).