Sri Lanka were reeling at 154-5 at the end of day two after India posted 600 in their first innings in the opening Test at Galle on Thursday.
Angelo Mathews (54) and Dilruwan Perera (six) were not out at stumps, as the hosts still trailed by 446 runs with five wickets in hand.
India posted a commanding 600 in their first essay, thanks to centuries from Shikhar Dhawan (190) and Cheteshwar Pujara (153).
Paceman Nuwan Pradeep was the most successful Sri Lankan bowler, taking six wickets for 132 runs.
Sri Lanka will play with 10 batsmen after Asela Gunaratne fractured his thumb while fielding on Wednesday, an injury that ruled him out of the three-match series.
After bleeding 399 runs on a punishing opening day, Sri Lanka finally managed more than one wicket in a session with pace duo Pradeep and Lahiru Kumara bending their back at the Galle International Stadium.
Debutant Hardik Pandya was batting on four with Ravindra Jadeja on eight at the end of the four-wicket session which yielded 104 runs.
Resuming on his personal score of 144, Cheteshwar Pujara duly brought up his sixth score of 150 or more before fellow overnight batsman Ajinkya Rahane straight drove Rangana Herath to complete his fifty in the next over.
Pradeep was the pick of the Sri Lankan bowlers claiming all three wickets on Wednesday, and the 30-year-old dismissed Pujara with a good length ball that bounced and seamed away.
Pujara batted nearly six-and-half-hours for his 153, raising 137 runs with Rahane after featuring in a 253-run partnership with centurion Shikhar Dhawan on Wednesday.
Kumara tasted success when he got Rahane to drive away from his body to be caught at slip for 57.
Sri Lanka’s stand-in skipper Rangana Herath dismissed wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha for 16 but Ravichandran Ashwin scored freely to help India pile on the runs.
Ashwin hit seven boundaries before gloving a Pradeep delivery to give wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella his fourth catch of the innings.
Sri Lanka will have one batsman less after Asela Gunaratne was ruled out after the middle-order batsman fractured his thumb while fielding on Wednesday.
AFP-Reuters
