Mahela Jayawardene made 56 and Thilan Samaraweera remained unbeaten on 65 as Sri Lanka, leading 1-0 in the series, piled up 293 for four by stumps at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo.
All-rounder Angelo Mathews was the other batsman at the crease on 26, having put on 52 runs so far for the fifth wicket with Samaraweera.
Sangakkara, who won his third successive toss and decided to take first strike on the evenly paced wicket, missed out on a third century in the series.
The left-hander, who made 103 in the first Test before scoring 219 and 42 not out in the second, looked set for another big knock when he hit five boundaries and two sixes with fluent elegance.
But a lapse in concentration midway through the afternoon session caused his downfall when he lofted left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha to long-on, where Virender Sehwag held the skier.
India, seeking a series-levelling win after losing the first Test, were let down by the bowlers, who sent down 14 no-balls and two wides during the day.
Leg-spinner Amit Mishra, making his first appearance in the series in place of the injured Harbhajan Singh, was the worst culprit with six no-balls as he returned wicketless for 99 runs from 25 overs.
Ojha, the most successful bowler of the day with two for 78, sent down four no-balls as well as the Indians struggled on the field.
Sangakkara was given a life on 23 when third slip Suresh Raina lunged to his right and dropped the ball that was carrying comfortably to Venkatsai Laxman at second slip off the bowling of Mithun.
However India had their stroke of luck when Jayawardene, who put on 84 for the fourth wicket with Samaraweera, was given out leg-before by Australian umpire Rod Tucker in the final session as replays indicated the ball from Ojha would have passed over the stumps.
Sri Lanka, batting almost the entire day in overcast conditions, lost both openers in the morning session to go to lunch on 102 for two.
Tharanga Paranavitana, who also hit centuries in each of the previous two Tests, fell for eight when he edged Sharma to wicket-keeper MS Dhoni.
Tillakaratne Dilshan (41) added 87 for the second wicket with Sangakkara, before he was run-out off what turned out to be the last ball of the morning session.
India went into the decisive Test without the injured duo of opener Gautam Gambhir and seasoned off-spinner Harbhajan.
Raina, who hit a century on his debut in the last match, was preferred over Yuvraj Singh for the number six spot.
Fit-again fast-bowler Lasith Malinga returned for Sri Lanka along with left-arm seamer Chanaka Welegedara. They replaced Dilhara Fernando and Dammika Prasad, who shared the new ball in the second Test.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 4th, 2010.
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