Indian batting superstar Sachin Tendulkar coasted to his fifth double hundred to push India to a 27-run first innings lead at the end of day four in the second Test against Sri Lanka.

Tendulkar struck his 48th Test century and debutant Suresh Raina notched up his maiden hundred as the pair put on a record 256 run partnership to almost guarantee that the match will be drawn.

The Little Master, as Tendulkar is known, eventually fell on Thursday for 206 off 347 balls having hit one six and 23 fours.

Raina faced 228 balls for his 120 hitting 12 boundaries and two sixes becoming only the ninth Indian to score a century on debut.

Offspin bowler Tillakaratne Dilshan took two wickets in the third over after tea having Tendulkar caught by wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene for 203 runs and Harbhajan Singh caught by Kumar Sangakkara without scoring.

Run-fest

It was another perfect day for batting in a test match that has seen five centuries in four days with Kumar Sangakkara (219) and Tendulkar scoring double hundreds, besides Mahela Jayawardene's 174, Tharanga Paranavitana's 100 and Raina's 120.

India was vulnerably placed on 241-4 on Wednesday needing 200 more runs to avoid the follow-on when Tendulkar and Raina paired together.
 
At the close, India had confortably passed Sri Lanka's 642-4 declared, but with only three sessions remaining, the second match in the three-test series is heading for a predictable draw.

Sri Lanka lead the three match series 1-0 following their 10-wicket success in last week's first test in Galle.