Colombo, Aug 23 (IANS): Ajinkya Rahane (126) compiled his fourth ton as India reached 283/5 in their second innings at tea on the fourth day of the second cricket Test against Sri Lanka at the P. Sara Oval here on Sunday.
Rahane (126) and Rohit Sharma (34) were the main scorers in the second session of the day that yielded 104 runs for India, who now have extended their lead to 370.
The Mumbai batsmen forged an 85-run stand for the fourth wicket that drove India to a commanding position.
Rahane played well on the both sides of the wicket. He showed a lot of patience and his different footworks against spinners -- leggie Rangana Herath and offie Tharindu Kaushal -- helped him tick the scoreboard regularly. The right-hander scored 10 fours during his 243-ball innings.
Both Rohit and Rahane perished against Kaushal while trying to increase the run rate as India looked in a hurry to swell their lead.
While Rahane was caught behind by Dinesh Chandimal, Rohit, in search of big runs, hit it to Jehan Mubarak at deep midwicket.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha (5) was retired hurt due to strain but is expected to be fit. Stuart Binny (17 not out) and Ravichandran Ashwin (2 not out) were at the crease for India at tea.
Earlier, Murali Vijay (82) and Rahane troubled the hosts in the first session.
Resuming the day at 70/1, the right-handed batsmen struck an important 140-run second wicket partnership to put India 266 runs ahead till lunch.
Both Rahane and Vijay looked at ease in the morning session and runs came at a decent pace as compared to the evening session on Saturday where they were tested to the hilt.
Sri Lankan bowlers went for 73 runs in the first 15 overs of play as Vijay and Rahane played shots on both sides of the wicket.
Kaushal gave the hosts the first success of the day when he trapped Vijay in front of the stumps. Tamil Nadu batsman Vijay, who registered his 11th Test fifty, departed after hitting four shots to the fence and two over it from 133 deliveries.
Kaushal also dismissed skipper Virat Kohli (10) in similar fashion as India lost third wicket for 171 runs.