Pakistan opener Fawad Alam was thrilled to score a ton on debut and help get his side out of trouble in the second Test.

However, Umar Gul claimed three quick wickets and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal chipped in with two as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 240, a lead of just 150 runs.

"I'm delighted to make a century" 

Alam then cracked an unbeaten 102 and was involved in two sizeable partnerships - 85 runs for the opening wicket with Khurram Manzoor (38) and an unbeaten 93 runs for the second with captain Younus Khan (35 not out).

Those two partnerships helped turn things around for Pakistan and put the visitors ahead by 28 runs at stumps.

"I'm delighted to make a century on debut," Alam said. "What doubles the joy is that it came with the team in a difficult situation

"We are now ahead and in a fairly good position considering the position we were in last evening."

Alam century gives Pakistan hope

Alam came into the side at the expense of Salman Butt, who was dropped for his twin failures in the first Test at Galle.

Although Alam is not a regular opener, he revealed Younus had convinced him to open the innings.

"Initially the plan was to have Shoaib Malik open the innings and for me to bat lower down the order," Alam said. "But Younus spoke to me during the practice session on the eve of the Test and he convinced me to open the innings.

"He said I would be a better player if I opened the innings rather than bat down the order. He encouraged me and told me that I should aim for a top-10 place in the rankings.

"When you have the support of the captain, it makes batting a lot easier."

"Ajmal will play a crucial role"

The 23-year-old also said he was determined to get his hundred.

"I wasn't under any tension or pressure when I got into the 90s," he said.

"I knew there was plenty of time and I kept telling myself there was no hurry. The 90s went by pretty quickly in the end. I hit that six off Rangana Herath and got to the mark off the next ball.

"The senior players and coach (Intikhab Alam) gave me a lot of support and encouragement too. They all told me I could get a century on debut and I was careful not to make blunders.

"I was determined to get a century and not let the team down."

Alam believes Pakistan are now in a good position to force a result and expects Ajmal to play an important part.

"It's anybody's game now," he said. "I think Ajmal will play a crucial role especially because the track is taking on spin nicely. We saw that he could be a handful and if we get the runs on the board he could win it for us."