Pakistan's Saud Shakeel scored a marathon double century and made Sri Lanka's bowlers toil on the third day of the first Test in Galle.

The precarious situation the visitors were in, and the position of advantage Sri Lanka had enjoyed on the second day -- when Pakistan were 101 for 5 -- seemed a distant memory today, as Shakeel, Agha Salman and later Naseem Shah defied the home team's bowlers.

Shakeel benefited from some ordinary bowling from the hosts, with Prabath Jayasuriya and Ramesh Mendis persisting for long spells without much luck, and dropped catches on the way to his first Test double century. 

Shakeel and Salman extended their overnight partnership to 177 runs before Mendis finally made the breakthrough when the latter charged him down the track and missed, for Samarawickrama to effect a stumping.

The partnership was Pakistan's highest sixth wicket stand against Sri Lanka, and was scored at a good clip too, the 177 runs coming off just 218 deliveries. 

If Sri Lanka felt they had finally got a foot in the door to close out that innings, that door was firmly shut as Shakeel and Noman Ali put on a partnership of 52. 

Shakeel was happy to give Ali the strike, and the spinner repaid the faith scoring 25 off 57, facing a majority of the deliveries in their seventh-wicket partnership. 

Mendis made the breakthrouogh once again, trapping Ali leg before wicket for 25, and another dismissal followed 19 balls later when Vishwa Fernando removed Shaheen Shah Afridi for 9. 

But there was only more frustration for the hosts afterwards, as Shah resisted the hosts in a spectacular rearguard, making six runs off 78 balls. 

Salman reached his double not long after, a well deserved reward for a hard day of graft, and Paksitan added another 21 runs, before Abrar Ahmed was the last man out caught in the deep for 10.

Pix by Pradeep Dilrukshana