Off-spinner Graeme Swann grabbed four wickets to leave a rejuvenated England on the brink of a series-levelling win in the second and final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
Sri Lanka, trailing by 185 runs on the first innings, ended the fourth day's play at 6-218 in their second innings, a lead of 33 runs with only four wickets in hand on a wearing P. Sara Oval pitch.
Skipper Mahela Jayawardene was unbeaten on 55 and Angelo Mathews was on three.
Swann claimed 4-82 including the prized scalps of Tillakaratne Dilshan for 35 and Kumar Sangakkara for 21.
England, who lost the first Test in Galle, need a win to level the series and retain their No.1 ranking.
Dilshan was unfortunate to depart, caught in the slips off Swann, as TV replays proved inconclusive whether the ball had gone off the bat.
Third umpire Rod Tucker reviewed Dilshan's challenge for more than five minutes before upholding on-field official Bruce Oxenford's decision to give the batsman out.
He walked off clearly unhappy with the decision.
Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford immediately went up to match referee Javagal Srinath to ask why benefit of doubt had not been given to the batsman, as is the norm in cricket.
The infra-red Hot Spot technology, which could have determined an edge, is not being used for the series.
Earlier in the day, Dilshan was fined 10 per cent of his match fee for over-the-top appealing during the Test.
Bowling during England's first innings on day three, Dilshan charged towards the striker's end celebrating a dismissal even before the decision had been given, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said.
