PALLEKELE: Sri Lanka took three early wickets on Saturday to reduce Pakistan to 45-3 at lunch on day two of the second test, still 233 runs behind the hosts' first innings total.

Dhammika Prasad removed Shan Masood lbw for 13, with the batsman's requested review being unsuccessful.

Ahmed Shehzad made a brisk 21 before falling to Nuwan Pradeep's third delivery, edging through to wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal.

Pakistan suffered a serious blow in the last ball before lunch when former captain Younis Khan was run out for three when Kaushal Silva made a direct hit in his throw from short mid-wicket.

Azhar Ali, the centurion of the previous test was unbeaten on six at lunch.

Earlier, Sri Lanka resumed on 272-8 and only lasted 20 minutes before being bowled out for 278.

Rahat Ali dismissed overnight batsman Tharindu Kaushal (18) before leg-spinner Yasir Shah finished things off by trapping Nuwan Pradeep lbw for a duck.

Yasir finished with 5-78; his third five-wicket haul in the series. He joined Shane Warne as the only overseas bowler to claim three five-wicket hauls in a series in Sri Lanka.

Yasir has 22 wickets in the series, the most by a Pakistani against Sri Lanka. Offspinner Saeed Ajmal had taken 18 wickets when UAE hosted the bilateral series in 2011.

Sri Lanka's batsmen have struggled to pick his Yasir's googly and flipper.

The series is level at 1-1. Pakistan won the first test in Galle by ten wickets and Sri Lanka bounced back by winning the second test in Colombo.