Jayawardene (136) exploited a perfect batting strip at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground to slam his 23rd Test ton while Warnapura (115) notched up his second ton as the hosts reached a commanding 422 for four at close on the second day.

The right-handed Samaraweera (111 not out) than had his moment of glory at the fag end of the day by scoring his seventh Test century on what turned out to be a nightmarish day for the visitors.

The fluent Jayawardene stole the limelight by scoring his ninth century at the SSC, thus becoming only the second player after Sir Don Bradman to hit nine centuries at a particular venue. The Australian legend had hit nine centuries at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Tillakaratne Dilshan (20) was giving Samaraweera company at the crease at stumps with the hosts putting themselves on course for a mammoth first innings total.

But the script could have unfolded a little differently had the buttered-fingered Indians latched on to all the three chances that came their way, Jayawardene being the beneficiary on two occasions.

Wicketkeeper Dinesh Kaarthik, a replacement for Mahendra Singh Dhoni who has skipped the Test series because of exhaustion, was guilty of spilling two catches offered by Jayawardene while Gautam Gambhir dropped one at forward short leg.

It turned out to be a frustrating day for the Indians as they toiled to get the wickets on a track which provided little assistance to the bowlers, except for a brief period with the second new ball, and some sloppy ground fielding only compounded their misery.

The Indian bowling lacked the bite to pose any problems for the hosts who scored at a relatively brisk pace right through the day.

With the islanders heading for a huge first innings total, the pressure will be on the Indian batsmen to keep the team afloat in the remaining three days of the match.

Resuming at the overnight score of 85 for two, the hosts ensured that there were no further setbacks as Warnapura and Jayawardene tormented the Indians with a 155-run partnership for the third wicket.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh provided the breakthrough by getting rid of Warnapura while paceman Ishant Sharma removed the dangerous Jayawardene late in the day with a gem of an outswinger.

With the rains staying away on Thursday, Warnapura and his captain went about their business without much trouble, adding 120 runs in 150 minutes to their overnight tally without being separated.

Warnapura was loudly cheered by a sparse crowd when he hammered Ishant sharma to the third man for his century that came in231 minutesoff 163 balls.