PROVIDENCE (Guyana), March 25: West Indies avoided the follow-on but Sri Lanka consolidated their advantage by building a huge lead before lunch on the fourth day of first Test at the Providence Stadium on Tuesday.

The visitors, after bowling out the home team for 280, went to the interval on 83 for one, ahead by 279 runs.

In-form opener Malinda Warnapura struck an unbeaten 44 while fellow left-hander Kumar Sangakkara was 14 not out.

Warnapura, who hit 132 and 50 in a warm-up match and followed that with 120 in the first innings, struck four fours off 60 balls.

Earlier, West Indies' last pair of Jerome Taylor and Daren Powell added the eight needed to avoid the follow-on and stretched their 10th-wicket stand to 28.

Thilan Mirando, the 27-year-old in just his second Test, claimed the final wicket when Powell (12) edged low to skipper Mahela Jayawardene at second slip.

Taylor hit a career-best, unbeaten 27 that included two fours and one six.

Mirando, who went wicketless in his only previous Test — in Jamaica in 2003 — ended with three for 59.

Chaminda Vaas took three for 59 and Muttiah Muralitharan claimed three for 112.

Sri Lanka quickly improved their 196-run first-innings lead as Warnapura and Michael Vandort added 43 for the first wicket at nearly run-a-minute pace.

Vandort was the only wicket to fall before lunch, edging Chris Gayle to Denesh Ramdin.

On Monday, Sri Lanka's bowlers toiled all day on the easy-paced pitch, but Ramnaresh Sarwan with a top score of 80 and the West Indies lower-order thwarted their plans to enforce the follow-on.

The Sri Lankans found it difficult to dislodge the second half of the West Indies batting, after the home team subsided to 109 for five in the first over after lunch.

The Sri Lankans bowled with discipline, but Sarwan, batting with aplomb, added a valuable 53 for the sixth wicket with left-hander Ryan Hinds.

Sri Lanka breathed much easier, when Sarwan, whose 4-1/2 hour stay at the crease resulted in four boundaries from 199 balls, was caught behind off Vaas as West Indies reached 186 for six at tea.

After the break, the energised Sri Lankans sought to finish the demolition job, but Hinds scored 37, Ramdin made 38, Test newcomer Sulieman Benn got 28 and Taylor compiled 24 not out before the close to dash their opponents' hopes.

Sri Lanka made headway after lunch interval, and had immediate success, when Dwayne Bravo was adjudged lbw for eight playing back and across to a well-pitched off-break.

For the next 1-1/2 hours, Sri Lanka toiled with little reward, as Hinds and Sarwan batted doggedly to defy their opponents, and set an example which the lower order followed.

Scoreboard