After a record opening stand, the visitors falter in the final two sessions of the first day of the Kandy Test.
Rain threatens to disrupt the first day's play when Sri Lanka and India face-off in the opening Test at Galle on Wednesday.
Asad Shafiq's seventh hundred and a belligerent 96 from Sarfraz Ahmed helped give Pakistan a sizeable lead against Sri Lanka on the fourth day of the opening Test at Galle on Saturday.
Rohit Sharma-led India's main aim would be to settle their middle-order combination and also find a perfect batting position for Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Sri Lanka batted the 16 overs during the final 85 minutes of play on the fourth day with an aim to survive rather than play positive cricket.
Maiden centuries by Shamsur Rahman and Imrul Kayes took Bangladesh past the follow-on mark but late strikes from the spinners put Sri Lanka in the driving seat in the second and final Test in Chittagong on Thursday.
India would look to continue their ruthless streak
Pakistan's experienced batsman Younis Khan dug deep for his 24th Test century and his seventh against Sri Lanka to rescue his struggling side who closed on 261-4 on the opening day of the first Test on Wednesday.
South Africa lost the wicket of opener Alviro Petersen for a duck as they chased 369 runs for victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka on Sunday.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews weathered a fiery spell of reverse swing bowling from Dayle Steyn to take his team past the follow-on mark on the third day of the first Test against South Africa on Friday.
India have won the first two Tests by comprehensive margins -- by 304 runs in Galle and an innings and 53 runs in Colombo.
England pacer James Anderson reclaimed the number-one ranking from India's Ravichandran Ashwin in the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers released on Monday after the end of the Edgbaston Test.
Kusal Mendis led a strong Sri Lankan second innings effort but the West Indies still held the advantage at stumps on day four of the first Test at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad on Saturday. Set a daunting target of 453 when the hosts declared their second innings at 223 for seven just after lunch, the visitors reached 176 for three by the close with Mendis unbeaten on 94.
Captain Virat Kohli and opener Murali Vijay made a mockery of sub-par Sri Lankan attack with effortless centuries as India cruised to 371 for four on the first day of the third and final cricket Test.
The Indian captain scored a majestic 213 -- his 19th hundred, en route which he broke a plethora of records in the company of Rohit Sharma (102 no), who got a Test ton after four long years.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan (94) and KL Rahul (73) restored India's dominance with fluent half-centuries as the hosts erased a 122-run lead to nose ahead in the opening cricket Test against Sri Lanka, in Kolkata on Sunday.
Mushfiqur Rahim's superb hundred complemented by a collective effort from the bowlers saw Bangladesh thrash Sri Lanka by 137 runs despite Lasith Malinga's brilliant international comeback in the Asia Cup opener, in Dubai, on Saturday.
Muhammad Hafeez led from the front with a blazing 67 as Lahore Lions trounced Sri Lanka's Southern Express by 55 runs in their penultimate Oppo Champions League Twenty20 qualifier, in Raipur on Tuesday, to keep alive their chances of making the main draw of the tournament.
South Africa reclaimed top spot in the Test rankings after grimly hanging on for a draw in the second and final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, on Monday to win the series 1-0.
Opener Dean Elgar struck a magnificent century for South Africa but Sri Lanka came back strongly with four wickets in the final session to balance the scales on the opening day of the first Test on Wednesday.
With Shikar Dhawan back in the squad, it is indeed a happy problem for skipper Virat Kohli, who has to choose two quality openers among three.
Pujara and Vijay added 209 runs for the second wicket to set a platform from where India would look to bat the Islanders out of the contest.
Skipper Virat Kohli's magnificent 243 was overshadowed by unprecedented scenes of mask-wearing Sri Lankan players, who halted proceedings thrice, complaining of poor air quality, on Day 2 of the third Test, in New Delhi.
South Africa captain Hashim Amla remained unbeaten after his 22nd Test hundred but off-spinner Dilruwan Perera's career best figures gave Sri Lanka a big first innings lead at the end of the third day of the second Test on Saturday.
Pandya's aggressive batting powered India to 487 all out after starting the day at 329 for six. The memorable knock was also Pandya's first ever hundred in first class cricket.
'There was a point of time -- I am very honest about it -- that I was not raring to even put on whites. I wasn't part of any team -- I wasn't part of any first-class team. There was a time when I was dropped from my own first-class team. To have this opportunity to be part of the Indian team is such a huge bonus'
The hosts, who put up their best batting show in the series so far were all-out for 386 in the second innings despite twin centuries from opener Dimuth Karunaratne (141) and No 3 Kusal Mendis (110).
If KL Rahul is fit, Abhinav Mukund will be expectedly left out, a strange coincidence because he was the original back-up opener in this Test squad ahead of Shikhar Dhawan.
Brought into the squad only after first-choice opener Murali Vijay was ruled out due to injury, Dhawan made full use of the opportunity and played an entertaining 168-ball innings that was studded with 31 fours. This was his fifth Test hundred.
India return to place from where journey to glory began.
India goes into the third and final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Friday hoping to register their first series victory in the island nation in 22 years.
The Virat Kohli-led team must take inspiration from the last trip to Sri Lanka, in 2010, when India beat Sri Lanka by five wickets, thanks to hundreds from Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman.
The International Cricket Council released the provisional squads of the 12 teams for next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand on Friday. However, co-hosts Australia and minnows Ireland decided against releasing the provisional list although they submitted 30 names to the parent body within the stipulated deadline.
India registered just three victories in 11 Tests, worse than even Zimbabwe and the West Indies...
In the ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, Australia's Ryan Harris has moved up two places to second following his six wickets against India in the fourth Test at MCG.
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