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England bounced back after being spun out cheaply by Sri Lanka to leave the first Test evenly poised at the Galle International Stadium.
At the end of an eventful second day's play in which 17 wickets tumbled on a slow pitch, Sri Lanka led the tourists by 209 runs with five second innings wickets in hand.
Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath grabbed six wickets as England were bowled out for 193 in their first innings after skipper Mahela Jayawardene's 180 had lifted Sri Lanka to 318 earlier in the day.
But the hosts slumped to 5-84 in their second knock, four of those wickets falling to off-spinner Graeme Swann, to set up a thrilling finale.
Swann, who had failed to take a wicket in the first innings, ripped through the top order in the final session of play.
At stumps, Dinesh Chandimal was unbeaten on 17 and Suraj Randiv was on two.
England lasted just 46.4 overs as the world's number one Test side, still to recover from a 3-0 thrashing by Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates earlier this year, once again fumbled against spin.
Ian Bell top-scored with 52, but England lost their way before defiant batting by the tailenders pushed the total from a shaky 6-92.
England will slip to number two behind South Africa in the official rankings if they lose the two-Test series