With his 15th Test century, England's captain Joe Root smashed a brilliant 124 to put his side in command of the second Test against Sri Lanka on Friday in such difficult conditions. On the third day of the second Test, the visitors managed to make 324 runs in the second innings with nine wickets in hand- England attained a 278 run lead against Sri Lanka.
Apart from Root, newcomer Ben Foakes contributed some valuable tail end runs. England reached 324 for nine, when bad light stopped play for the day at Kandy.
Spinner Akila Danajanya made most of the turning track by claiming six wickets.
Soon after tea, Root reached his 15th Test ton hitting 10 fours and two sixes in his 146-balls knock.
"That's what it should be. You shouldn't feel pressure like the pressure is too much for you, you should enjoy the occasion and make the most of the opportunity in front of you," he said after the day's play.
Brief scores: England 290 and 259/6 (Joe Root 98*, Rory Burns 59; Akila Dhananjaya 3-77, Dilruwan Perera2-81) lead Sri Lanka 336, by 213 runs