Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan seized control of the first Test with two late wickets as Bangladesh slumped to 36-3 before rain forced the abandonment of the second day's play on Tuesday.
Bangladesh need another 147 runs to make Sri Lanka bat again after the hosts declared on 370-9 with fifties from Tillakaratne Dilshan (86), Thilan Samaraweera (78) and Mahela Jayawardene (63).
Bangladesh skipper Habibul Bashar, top scorer in the first innings with 84, was unbeaten on 13 and Tushar Imran was nought not out.
Muralitharan bowled opener Shariar Nafees (13) and trapped Mohammad Ashraful leg before for a duck with his doosra in his first over, to leave the tourists reeling before bad light and then a torrential downpour stopped play 12 overs early.
Pace bowler Lasith Malinga also struck early with the new ball as Javed Omar (nine) glanced a catch down the leg side and wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara took a fine diving catch.
Sri Lanka, replying to Bangladesh's 188, knocked off a 28-run first innings deficit during the morning and then consolidated their advantage, extending the lead to 182 before declaring.
Samaraweera, batting at four, anchored the Sri Lanka reply with a patient and determined 78 in a four-hour innings that spanned 198 balls.
Jayawardene provided him with solid support during the morning, scoring a more fluent 120-ball 63 that included seven boundaries and a lofted six over extra cover.
The pair shared a 101-run fourth-wicket stand in 225 balls until Jayawardene edged behind as he tried to cut a short ball from left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique.
Samaraweera built another useful 64-run stand with Dilshan before glancing a catch down the leg side off medium pacer Shahadat Hossain and being caught by wicketkeeper Khaled Mashud.
Dilshan looked for quick runs after the departure of his top order colleagues, before being bowled for an 124-ball 86 that included eight fours.
Rafique was the most successful bowler for the tourists, following his morning dismissal of Jayawardene with the wickets of Chaminda Vaas (five), Rangana Herath (13) and Muttiah Muralitharan (three).
Extracting sharp turn from the spin-friendly pitch, Rafique finished with 5-114 from 37 overs.
Bangladesh, who have lost their previous three Tests to Sri Lanka, will play two back-to-back matches in the series.
Scorecard
Bangladesh (1st innings): 188 (H. Bashar 84; R. Herath 4-38)
Sri Lanka (1st innings):
S. Jayasuriya c A. Ahmed b Shaha. Hossain 46
M. Atapattu lbw Rasel 18
K. Sangakkara c Ashraful b Rafique 30
T. Samaraweera c Mashud b Shaha. Hossain 78
M. Jayawardene c Mashud b Rafique 63
T. Dilshan b Rasel 86
C. Vaas lbw Rafique 5
R. Herath c Mashud b Rafique 13
M. Muralitharan c Mashud b Rafique 3
D. Fernando not out 1
Extras: (lb-6, nb-20, w-1) 27
Total: (for 9 wickets declared, 110.2 overs) 370
Fall of wickets: 1-41, 2-97, 3-130, 4-231, 5-295, 6-306, 7-337, 8-345, 9-370.
Did not bat: L. Malinga
Bowling: Rasel 19.2-2-67-2 (nb-9), Shaha. Hossain 20-0-75-2 (nb-3, w-1), Rafique 37-9-114-5, Haque jnr 33-8-106-0 (nb-8), Ashraful 1-0-2-0.
Bangladesh (2nd innings):
J. Omar c Sangakkara b Malinga 9
S. Nafees b Muralitharan 13
H. Bashar not out 13
M. Ashraful lbw Muralitharan 0
T. Imran not out 0
Extras: (nb-1) 1
Total: (for 3 wickets, 9 overs) 36
Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-35, 3-35
To bat: A. Ahmed, K. Mashud, M. Rafique, E. Haque jnr, S. Rasel, S. Hossain
Bowling: Vaas 4-2-13-0, Malinga 3-0-22-1 (nb-1), Muralitharan 1-1-0-2, Herath 1-0-1-0.
