West Indies left Sri Lanka struggling on 145 for 6 at tea Thursday on the first day of the second and final Test, as the visitors strive for a series-saving victory.
Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat at the P Sara Stadium in Colombo, where numerous third umpire reviews before lunch left the hosts reeling after they had won the first Test by an innings.
Milinda Siriwardana, playing in only his second Test, stood firm against the West Indies attack, notching up his maiden Test 50 including two sixes.
But the visitors took two wickets before the break, including that of Dinesh Chandimal whose century in the first Test in Galle proved instrumental in Sri Lanka's win.
Jerome Taylor clean-bowled Chandimal for 25, while Kusal Perera was caught and bowled by spinner Jomel Warrican for 16.
Warrican and captain Jason Holder were the pick of the bowlers with two wickets apiece.
In the first session before lunch, the visitors tasted early success when Taylor had opener Kaushal Silva caught behind off the fourth ball for a duck.
Umpire Rod Tucker was forced to reverse his initial decision of not out after Holder called for a review.
Opener Dimuth Karunaratne, who scored 184 in the first Test, looked shaky from the start in the face of the visitors' attack.
A searing leg-stump yorker from Holder trapped the left hander leg before, sending him back to the pavilion on another review.
A third review saw series debutant Kusal Mendis, who made an unimpressive 13 in his first Test innings, given out for a faint edge off Kemar Roach.
After a fourth review, captain Angelo Mathews was also given out, caught by Kraigg Brathwaite at second slip off Holder for 14.
The West Indies have not found Sri Lanka a happy hunting ground since they played their first official Test on the island in 1993.
Now they are next to bottom -- above only Bangladesh -- in the league table of regular Test-playing nations while Sri Lanka are one notch above them in seventh place.
Sri Lanka are going through a rebuilding phase after the recent retirements of star batsmen Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. But they were still far too strong for the visitors in Galle.
