Pakistan dropped five catches during the day as Sri
Lanka, building on its overnight total of 47-1, closed on 298-5, only trailing
by 16 with a day remaining.
Sangakkara faced 295 balls during his 26th test century
that spanned just under seven hours and included 16 boundaries.
Fellow left-hander Lahiru Thirimanne contributed 68.
Pace bowler Umar Gul led Pakistan with figures of 2-36
while there was a wicket apiece for Saeed Ajmal (1-100) and Junaid Khan (1-43).
Sri Lanka, facing a mammoth first-innings deficit of 314,
began brightly with Sangakkara and Thirimanne going unbeaten during the morning
session as they stretched their second-wicket stand to 153.
The pair was helped by some woeful Pakistan slip fielding
with Mohammad Hafeez dropping three catches off Thirimanne and Younus Khan
putting down Sangakkara.
Thirimanne was on 40 when he edged successive deliveries
from left-arm pacer Junaid to first slip but Hafeez failed to hold on to either
opportunity.
Soon after passing his maiden test fifty, Thirimanne
again benefited from a Hafeez error, this time a sharp edge off Ajmal eluding
the Pakistan player's grasp at gully.
Sangakkara was first to his 50 but he was let off on 56
just before lunch as Younus failed to hold on to a diving catch low to his
right at slip off Hafeez's off-spin.
Younus had earlier claimed a second slip catch off
Sangakkara from the luckless Junaid but replays showed the ball just touched
the turf before the fielder took the catch.
Once opener Thirimanne gifted his wicket with a careless
run out 30 minutes after lunch, Pakistan took the initiative with two more
wickets in the second session.
Thirimanne, who struck four boundaries off 159 balls,
tried to scurry for a second run after clipping to deep square leg but Azhar
Ali's accurate return found him a yard short.
Seven runs later, Ajmal claimed the prized wicket of
123-Test veteran Mahela Jayawardene, who under-edged a cut on to his stumps
right after getting off the mark with a classy on-drive for four.
Sangakkara reached his sixth century against Pakistan,
off 173 balls in four hours, with a flashy drive through backward point.
But he soon saw Tillekeratne Dilshan (9) depart as the
captain lost his middle stump to Juniad at 191-4.
Sangakkara fashioned a fifth wicket partnership of 42
either side of tea with Angelo Mathews to stall Pakistan's charge.
Sangakkara batted with assurance to dull a mainly
Pakistani crowd, which swelled to close to 8,000 in the afternoon session.
Mathews compiled 22 before Umar Gul struck with the first
delivery with the second new ball, trapping the right-hander lbw on the back
foot at 233-5.
Pakistan should have made even more inroads in the final
hour but yet another dropped catch cost the team dearly.
Wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene was on 11 when he
swatted a Gul bouncer to mid-wicket where Wahab Riaz fluffed straightforward
catch.
Jayawardene (25 not out) made the most of that chance,
staying an hour and a half with the resolute Sangakkara to reach 65 in their
unbroken partnership.
