Karunaratne, De Silva take Sri Lanka's lead past 300 in Pakistan Test

Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne battled through back pain to extend Sri Lanka's second-innings lead to 323 after key strikes by Pakistan's bowlers in the second Test on Tuesday.

The hosts reached 176-5 when bad light stopped play early on day three, with stumps called in Galle after more than half an hour's wait for conditions to improve.

The left-handed Karunaratne, on 27, and Dhananjaya de Silva, on 30, were batting in an unbeaten stand of 59.

"The wicket is a bit slower than the first couple of days," spinner Ramesh Mendis, who claimed five wickets to help bowl out Pakistan for 231 in the opening session, told reporters.

"We need to bat as deep as possible and get maximum runs possible. This is a good batting wicket."

Ramesh said the hosts would likely be safe with a lead of 400 and believes the captain and coach Chris Silverwood will decide on a possible declaration if they keep batting.

Pakistan's highest chase in Sri Lanka came in 2015 when they made a target of 377 in Pallekele, and the tourists chased down a Galle record of 342 in the series opener.

Sri Lanka were in trouble at 117-5 when Karunaratne, who stayed off the field during Pakistan's innings, and De Silva got down to the grind.

De Silva took on the opposition bowlers and hit six boundaries with Karunaratne happy to play anchor. The skipper got help from the physio in between his knock.

Karunaratne rotated the strike and also hit two boundaries including a reverse sweep for four off leg-spinner Yasir Shah.

Pakistan had earlier rattled the Sri Lankan batting with key wickets including Angelo Mathews in his 100th Test after the former captain, who made 35, attempted to rebuild the innings with Dinesh Chandimal.

Off-spinner Agha Salman got Mathews out for his maiden Test