Sri Lanka, comfortably positioned at 372 for three at the
start of the fourth day, succumbed for 479 in reply to England's 486 after the
opening session had been washed out.
England lost captain Andrew Strauss for a second-ball duck
but Alastair Cook (61 not out) and Jonathan Trott (58) added 117 for the second
wicket from 116 balls to restore their team's fortunes.
At the close of a prolonged day, England was 149 for two in their
second innings, an overall lead of 156, with 98 overs scheduled for Tuesday's
final day.
Steven Finn and Graeme Swann took seven wickets between them
after play began following a frustrating Sunday in which 50.4 overs were lost
to rain.
The England fast bowlers had been criticized by bowling
coach David Saker for their lack of accuracy and they still strayed down the
leg-side with 25 byes and 23 leg-byes included among the extras.
They were able, though, to extract life and lift from the
rain-freshened pitch with Finn proving the most successful with four for 108.
Swann had never been allowed to settle on Sunday as
Tillakaratne Dilshan used his feet repeatedly to negate the off-spinner's
threat during an heroic captain's innings of 193.
Swann bounced back against the Sri Lankan tail-enders,
however, capturing three wickets from 16 balls to wrap up the innings with
figures of three for 101.
Mahela Jayawardene, who had scored centuries in both his
previous tests at Lord's, was the first batsman to fall, caught in the slips
off Finn one short of his fifty.
His namesake Prasanna Jayawardene contributed a sprightly 40
including five boundaries and a swept six off Swann, adding 57 for the seventh
wicket with Rangana Herath.
The other wickets fell quickly, giving England a narrow
lead, which Strauss was unable to extend.
Strauss, lbw to Welegedara in the first innings for four,
was even less successful this time. He was rapped on the back pad in front of
the stumps and an unsuccessful referral only confirmed that he was palpably out.
Trott played with great assurance, clipping the ball firmly
through mid-on and bringing up his half-century from 66 balls with his eighth
boundary, a handsome backfoot drive through the covers.
He fell victim to a Herath specialty when the left-arm
spinner jagged a ball late with the arm to knock back his leg stump.
Trott's dismissal brought Kevin Pietersen to the crease
accompanied by his well-documented recent problems against orthodox left-arm
spin.
Pietersen, who fell to Herath for three in the first test in
Cardiff, was cheered loudly by the sprinkling of spectators as he safely
negotiated the first two balls. He raised an even bigger cheer when he on-drove
his 13th ball from the spinner firmly to the boundary. Cook was beaten several
times outside the off-stump but was otherwise unperturbed, bringing up his
half-century with his sixth boundary.
