Sri Lanka reached 6-302 at lunch on the second day of the third and final Test against Pakistan in Sharjah on Friday.
Skipper Angelo Mathews was batting on 67 while Dilruwan Perera was on 29 not out as Sri Lanka added another 82 runs after resuming the day at 5-220.
They lost Prasanna Jayawardene (35) to paceman Mohammad Talha who has figures of 2-77.
Spinner Saeed Ajmal took 2-79.
Sri Lanka leads the three-match series 1-0 after winning the second Test in Dubai by nine wickets.
The first Test ended as a draw in Abu Dhabi.