COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's bowlers jolted New Zealand's enormous run chase with two early wickets as the visitors reached 78-2 at tea on day four Saturday, chasing 494 to win.

The Black Caps found themselves in a similar situation to the first test, needing to score 416 more runs to win but more realistically trying to survive a further four sessions to force a draw.

Seamer Dammika Prasad brought the first breakthrough for the hosts, bowling Tim McIntosh for seven with the score on 36.

Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath snared Martin Guptill (28) in his first ball of the innings, caught by wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardena.

At tea, Daniel Flynn was on 22 with Ross Taylor on 20.

No team in test history has successfully chased more than 418 runs to win in a fourth innings.

The highest fourth innings score at Sinhalese Sports Club is 391-4, scored by Sri Lanka against Pakistan last month.

Earlier Sri Lanka declared its second innings on 311-5, helped largely by an imperious century from skipper Kumar Sangakkara.

Already boasting a massive lead, Sri Lanka opted to bat on in the post-lunch session to enable Mahela Jayawardene to score a century, having missed the mark by eight runs in the first innings.

However he was out for 96, caught at slip by Taylor off seamer Iain O'Brien. He faced 153 balls and hit five fours and a six.

Sangakkara was dismissed for 109, his 20th test hundred, in the first session. He faced 175 balls, hitting 12 fours and a six before being caught by Taylor at slip off spinner Jeetan Patel.

Sangakkara and Jayawardene shared a 173-run partnership for the third wicket.

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori returned the best bowling figures with 2-62.

On Friday spinners Herath and Muttiah Muralitharan snared three wickets each as New Zealand was bowled out for 234 in the first innings in reply to Sri Lanka's 416.

Sri Lanka is looking for a 2-0 series sweep after a 202-run win in the first test.