Mathews' Heroics Not Enough as England Moves Closer to Victory

Angelo Mathews showed a promising performance reminiscent of his best days in 2014, making 65 runs and covering nearly 50 overs of the game. However, even with Mathews' display of skill, England seemed poised to secure their fourth consecutive Test match win this summer. 

As the day closed, Sri Lanka was leading by 82 runs, with only four wickets remaining. This included wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal, who despite having suffered a severe blow to his thumb, was still in a condition to play. A setback occurred when Mark Wood had to abandon his run-up due to a sudden pain in his thigh, but Joe Root managed to make a notable breakthrough by luring Milan Rathnayake to his doom. 

While Mathews and Kamindu Mendis tried their best to keep Sri Lanka in the game, their efforts were not enough to overcome the shortcomings in Sri Lanka's performance. The team's weak start, losing Nishan Madushka and Kusal Mendis for ducks to Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson respectively, likely put them in a position too difficult to recover from. 

The day began with Jamie Smith continuing his successful run, adding to England’s lead and setting the pace for the rest of the game. Although Sri Lanka had shown promise, their lack of consistency led to their build-up losing steam as England took control of the match.