Sri Lanka recovered slightly on Friday to reach 4-43 at lunch in their second innings, still requiring another 261 runs to make Australia bat again.

Kumar Sangakkara is 22 not out with Angelo Mathews on 17.

Australia were bowled out earlier for 460.

Trailing by a massive 304 runs, Sri Lanka lost 3-3 in the opening two overs of their second dig in a record-equalling shambolic start.

Dimuth Karunaratne was run out for one and Tillakaratne Dilshan was caught at short leg off the bowling of Mitchell Johnson (1-7) for a first-ball duck.

Skipper Mahela Jayawardene also made a duck after inside-edging a rising delivery from debutant Jackson Bird (2-10) onto his stumps.

Sri Lanka equalled their worst three-down score after also being 3-3 against England in 2001.

Bird struck again in his third over when Thilan Samaraweera (one) was trapped lbw at 4-13.

Earlier, No.8 batsman Johnson was left stranded on 92 not out.

Australia had resumed on 8-440 and lost the wickets of Nathan Lyon (one) and Jackson Bird (duck).

Johnson, who claimed 4-63 in Sri Lanka’s first innings including his 200th victim, finished eight runs shy of his second Test hundred in a tremendous all-round performance.

Skipper Michael Clarke (106) top-scored for Australia.

Clarke pushed his tally of Test runs in 2012 to 1595 at a Bradmanesque average of 106.33, passing Ricky Ponting’s Australian record of 1544 set in 2005.

Pace-bowling allrounder Shane Watson fielded in the gully but didn’t bowl in Sri Lanka’s second innings after suffering his second calf injury of the summer during day one of the Melbourne Test.

Watson made 83 in Australia’s first innings and his injury was announced late on Thursday night.

The good form of Bird, Johnson and Peter Siddle presents Australia’s selectors with a difficult decision to make on the return of quick Mitchell Starc for the Sydney Test on January 3 after the left-armer was rested in Melbourne.