But the dismissal was skipper Joe Root's mastermind after he reviewed the umpire's call, which was not out, and replays suggested the ball had grazed Mathews' bat. Fast bowler Mark Wood sent debutant Ramesh Mendis trudging back to the pavilion for nought with wicketkeeper Jos Buttler taking a one-handed diving catch towards his left. Dickwella made the team fight back with his 16th Test fifty as he put together a 89-run seventh-wicket stand with Perera. Perera also dug in after Dickwella's wicket and scored his seventh Test half-century to frustrate the England bowlers before falling to Sam Curran. 

All the 10 wickets went to the pacemen with Wood taking three scalps. But it was spin in the final session with left-arm orthodox Embuldeniya sending back Dom Sibley, for nought, and Zak Crawley, for five, in quick succession. Root and Bairstow got together to thwart the Sri Lankan attack as they put on an unbroken 93-run stand till close of play. Root, who hit 228 in his team's opening win last week, recorded his 50th half-century in his 99th match. The series, which is being played behind closed doors, resumed after being cancelled in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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