Sri Lanka closed on 120 for five wickets as Mahela Jayawardene's battling half century sought to repair some of the early damage done by Harris.    

The right arm pacer captured Tharanga Paranavitana with the first ball of the second innings for lbw and then bowled Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan in his fourth over for 12, leaving Sri Lanka struggling at 15 for two wickets.  

Replays showed Paranavitana would have survived had he called for a review as more than half the ball pitched outside the leg.    

"To me, it looked out," Harris told reporters. "But obviously the batsman got the opportunity to refer, but he didn't. Bad luck for him."   

Harris later bowled wicketkeeper-batsman Prasanna Jayawardene for a duck as the home team found themselves on 68 for five.    

Sri Lanka lost Kumar Sangakkara for 17 shortly after tea when he was forced to edge a short pitch ball by Shane Watson, giving a catch to Michael Hussey at gully.    

Thilan Samaraweera, who was caught behind off Mitchell Johnson, and Prasanna Jayawardene did not add to the score.    Mahela Jayawardene, however, held the Sri Lankan innings together with the support of Angelo Mathews.   

He ended the day with an unbeaten 57, sharing an unbroken sixth wicket partnership of 52 with Mathews who was on 32 at the close.   

Sri Lanka face an uphill task as they need 259 more runs to win the Test. But while Australia seem on course for victory, they may be forced to wait for it with rain forecast for Saturday.   "A couple of days are to come and they (Sri Lanka) are in their own conditions, so you never take that for granted," said Harris. "But we are in a very good position. Hopefully we can clean up those wickets tomorrow."     

Earlier, Australia were all out for 210 with Sri Lanka left arm spinner Rangana Herath collecting a career-best five-wicket haul in their second innings.   

Herath captured five wickets for 79 runs, taking his tally to eight wickets in the match for 133 runs on a pitch that has historically favored spinners, especially in the final two days of a test match.   

Australia, resuming on 115 for six, added a further 95 runs on the third day after play was delayed due to a wet outfield.    The tourists were helped by their lower order, with the last three batsmen adding 80 runs after the team had been struggling on 130 for seven at one stage.