Asif can be as good as some of the fast bowling greats Pakistan have produced Pakistan team manager Zaheer Abbas More close of play reaction

Pace bowler Mohammad Asif claimed his second five-wicket haul of the game to revive Pakistan's hopes in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Kandy.

The tourists bounced back from being dismissed for 170 to reduce Sri Lanka to 73-8 at the close as Asif (5-27) was backed up by Abdul Razzaq (3-20).

With 20 wickets falling on day two of a game dominated by bowlers, however, Sri Lanka's 182-run lead could be enough.

Spinner Muttiah Muralitharan took 5-39 during Pakistan's innings.

The crowd witnessed a steady procession of batsmen heading from and back to the dressing rooms throughout the day.

Sri Lanka resumed on 267-8 but only added 12 to their score in the 3.2 overs it took Asif (6-44) to bowl Nuwan Kulesekara and Danish Kaneria to have Lasith Malinga caught by Razzaq.

Pakistan began their reply well as Imran Farhat and Kamran Akmal shared an opening stand of 57.

Farhat was then caught in the gully off Kulasekara for 23, but the wicket came at a cost as Sanath Jayasuriya dislocated his right thumb in taking the catch.

Related story: Injury ruins Jayasuriya swansong

"Obviously to lose a player of Sanath Jayasuriya's calibre is tough. His experience and ability on a track such as this would have been vital," assistant coach Trevor Penney commented.

Akmal followed when he was caught at slip off Murali for 33, but Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf added 50 for the third wicket either side of lunch.

Their partnership was broken when Murali bowled Yousuf for 17, sparking an unexpected collapse which saw Pakistan's last seven wickets go down for 49 runs in 20 overs.

Murali also trapped Faisal Iqbal for five, bowled Razzaq for four and ended the innings by having Kaneria caught behind for four.

It was the 51st time in his Test career that Murali had taken five or more wickets in an innings and lifted his career total to 611 victims.

Muralitharan made the most of his home town pitch

Farveez Maharoof picked up the wicket of Younis, who was caught by Thilan Samaraweera for 35, and Pakistan could not afford the run out of skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq for 15 - a direct hit from square leg by substitute Chamara Kapugedara.

Trailing by 109 on first innings, however, they soon had plenty to smile about as Asif sent back Upul Tharanga (12), Kumar Sangakkara (16) and Samaraweera (four) and Razzaq removed Mahela Jayawardene (15), all of them bowled.

The procession continued as Asif trapped Maharoof lbw for one and had Tillakaratne Dilshan caught behind for 11 in successive overs.

With Jayasuriya unable to bat, Sri Lanka needed their tail to eke out as many runs as possible and also avoid their lowest ever total in a Test against Pakistan, having being bowled out for 71 on the same ground in 1994.

They just managed to do so, but Razzaq followed Asif's lead by picking up the wickets of Kulasekara and Malinga Bandara in his last two overs before stumps.