West Indies closed the fourth day of the first Test on 96 for one having been set a victory target of 437 by Sri Lanka in Georgetown, Guyana on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka bowled out the hosts for 280 in the morning and then scored 240 for seven before declaring mid-way through the evening session.
Stand-in opener Dwayne Bravo, promoted ahead of the out-of-form Chris Gayle, closed on 46 not out with Ramnaresh Sarwan unbeaten on 34.
West Indies, after a solid start, now need 341 runs to win the Test match.
Chaminda Vaas struck an early blow as Devon Smith (10) top-edged an attempted pull stroke and was brilliantly caught at long leg by a diving Thilan Thushara.
In the morning, West Indies, who started the day on 269 for nine, managed to avoid the follow on before Thushara had last-man Darren Powell caught at slip.
Thushara finished with three for 59. Vaas claimed three for 48 and Muttiah Muralitharan finished with three for 112.
Opener Malinda Warnapura, who scored a maiden Test century in the first innings, then top scored in the second innings with 62 from 91 deliveries with five boundaries.
QUICK RUNS
Middle order batsman Thilan Samaraweera also scored an unbeaten 56, while skipper Mahela Jayawardene made a brisk 33 from 38 runs as Sri Lanka searched for quick runs.
Warnapura and Michael Vandort started the innings with a brisk 43-run opening stand.
West Indies claimed one wicket before lunch as Vandort was well caught down the leg-side for 24 by wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin off part-time spinner Gayle.
Kumar Sangakkara (21), trying to push along the scoring rate, departed shortly after lunch as he tried to clip a slower delivery from Dwayne Bravo through the leg-side and was caught at mid off from a leading edge.
The breakthrough ended a 51-run stand for the second wicket.
Warnapura perished as he chased a wide delivery from Bravo.
Jayawardene kept the scoreboard ticking along before being surprised by some extra bounce from left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn and was caught at mid-wicket -- Benn's first wicket in test cricket.
West Indies grabbed their fourth wicket of the middle session when Jerome Taylor trapped Tillakaratne Dilshan lbw.
Benn finished with three for 59 from 13 overs, the most successful of the West Indian bowlers.
Scoreboard at the close on the fourth day of the first test between Sri Lanka and West Indies in Georgetown, Guyana on Tuesday.
Scorecard
Sri Lanka first innings 476-8 dec (M. Warnapura 120, M. Jayawardene 136)
West Indies first innings
C. Gayle lbw b Vaas 0
D. Smith c P. Jayawardene b Thushara 14
R. Sarwan c P. Jayawardene b Vaas 80
M. Samuels c P. Jayawardene b Thushara 5
S. Chanderpaul c Warnapura b Muralitharan 23
D. Bravo lbw b Muralitharan 8
R. Hinds c P. Jayawardene b Muralitharan 37
D. Ramdin c Sangakkara b Vaas 38
S. Benn run out 28
J. Taylor not out 27
D. Powell c M. Jayawardene b Thushara 12
Extras (4-lb, 4-nb) 8
Total (all out, 111.5 overs) 280
Fall of wickets: 1-4 2-46 3-58 4-99 5-109 6-162 7-193 8-236 9-252 10-280
Bowling: C. Vaas 25-7-48-3, T. Thushara 20.5-3-59-3, T. Dilshan 1-0-2-0, M. Muralitharan 40-6-112-3 (2-nb), R. Herath 25-6-55-0 (2-nb)
Sri Lanka second innings
M. Vandort c Ramdin b Gayle 24
M. Warnapura c Ramdin b Bravo 62
K. Sangakkara c sub b Bravo 21
M. Jayawardene c Chanderpaul b Benn 33
T. Samaraweera not out 56
T. Dilshan lbw Taylor 4
C. Vaas c Ramdin b Benn 13
T. Thushara c Taylor b Benn 14
P. Jayawardene not out 5
Extras (2-b, 1-lb, 5-nb) 8
Total (for seven wickets declared, 57 overs) 240
Fall of wickets: 1-43 2-94 3-133 4-159 5-171 6-192 7-224
Bowling: D. Powell 9-0-33-0, J. Taylor 8-0-37-1, D. Bravo 14-0-54-2 (1-nb), S. Benn 13-0-59-3, C. Gayle 13-1-54-1
Did not bat: R. Herath, M. Muralitharan
West Indies second innings
D. Smith c Thushara b Vaas 10
D. Bravo not out 46
R. Sarwan not out 34
Extras (5-b, 1-nb) 6
Total (one wicket, 23 overs) 96
Fall of wickets: 1-22
Bowling: C. Vaas 6-2-23-1, T. Thushara 4-1-31-0 (1-nb), R. Herath 7-1-19-0, M. Muralitharan 6-1-18-0
To bat: C. Gayle, M. Samuels, S. Chanderpaul, R. Hinds, D. Ramdin, S. Benn, J. Taylor, D. Powell
