Result: England (498/9d & 80/1) defeated Sri Lanka (101 & 475; Chandimal 126, Mathews 80; Anderson 5/58) by nine wickets
Captain Alastair Cook reached the historic 10,000 Test run landmark as England wrapped up a series win against Sri Lanka by nine wickets.
Cook drove Nuwan Pradeep to the legside boundary to become the first Englishman to reach a record only 11 other batsmen have managed.
The 31-year-old is also the youngest player to achieve the feat and has completed it in the shortest amount of time.
He and Alex Hales might not have expected to bat today but Dinesh Chandimal’s first century outside of Asia forced England to return to the middle.
They wrapped up the innings in the afternoon session, James Anderson completing a third five-for in the series, then chased down 79 without alarm to record a sixth win from sixth in Test matches on this ground.
England now need to beat Pakistan in their Investec Test series later in the summer to hold individual series wins over each Test-playing country.
And for all but the last two days, they have been far too dominant for Sri Lanka.
There was a brief spell this morning where few might have even pondered a Day Five as Chandimal and Rangana Herath extended their partnership to a healthy 116.
Herath survived a chance as James Vince pondered underneath a steepling catch and subsequently dropped it, but he largely batted with great control in reaching his second Test match 50.
Chandimal was the star of the show though, reaching his sixth century in Test cricket after running Stuart Broad away down to third man.
He too had taken the attack to England in calculated fashion, never really looking in great trouble.
Once Herath departed lbw to Anderson, via a hopeful referral, the final three wickets mustered 45 between them but it was time, not runs, that Sri Lanka really needed to bat for.
Shaminda Eranga lost his off stump, Chandimal tried to heave Broad into Cumbria and was bowled while Suranga Lakmal skied Chris Woakes to complete the innings.
Cook set about chasing the target down and reached the milestone in the second over as his leg glance crept to the boundary off Pradeep.
Fellow opener Hales fell to Milinda Siriwardana for the second time in the match, misreading a straight delivery that bowled him.
Nick Compton was able to see England home alongside Cook, however, to secure another thumping victory for the hosts and an unassailable 2-0 series lead.
Did you attend today? Your feedback is vital to us. Please complete this short survey.
Close, Day Three: Sri Lanka (101 & 309/5; Mathews 80) trail England (498/9d; Ali 155*) by 88 runs
Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews struck 80 and paved the way for a defiant fightback on Day Three against England at Emirates Riverside.
The visitors were forced to follow on after adding ten to their overnight score, with a wicket apiece for James Anderson & Stuart Broad.
However, there was a valiant effort second time around as each player managed to get into double figures, with Kaushal Silva and Mathews passing the half-century mark.
The latter fell for a valiant 80 but the lower order showed resilience where it was lacking yesterday to stretch the game into a fourth day.
Their chances of even a draw still seem highly unlikely but they did add some respectability to proceedings after a dreadful second day.
Silva set the tone, playing resolutely but with intent to keep the scoreboard ticking over as he rode his luck with edges at times.
Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis both fell on 26, edging catches behind the wicket, while Lahiru Thirimanne fell victim to an excellent Moeen Ali ball that drifted in then turned to hit off stump.
But the opener and his captain put on 82 throughout the afternoon session, alleying fears the visitors would roll over on the third day.
Mathews turned the aggressor once Silva was dismissed, offering ‘keeper Jonny Bairstow another catch behind the stumps.
The 28-year-old launched Ali repeatedly down the ground, including one for six, cutting a different figure from the dejected captain on show in the previous day.
And his attitude seemed to rub off on Dinesh Chandimal and Milinda Siriwardana after he also edged to Bairstow.
The pair dug in to record a half-century stand, the second of the innings, and saw out the new ball to cut the deficit down to two figures and stretch proceedings into a fourth day.
Did you attend today? Your feedback is vital to us. Please complete this short survey.
Close, Day Two: Sri Lanka (91/8) trail England (498/9d; Ali 155*; Pradeep 4/107) by 407 runs
Moeen Ali carved through the Sri Lankan bowling attack for 155* as England took control of the second Investec Test match Emirates Riverside.
Ali shepherded the tail magnificently to move to his second Test century and then beyond 150 as the visitors struggled to pin him down.
Soon after reaching three figures, the number seven opened his arms with an array of attacking strokes as Angelo Mathews quickly ran out of ideas.
There was success for Rangana Herath as he reached a milestone 300th wicket in Test matches.
But following Alastair Cook’s decision to declare, only Kusal Mendis really got to grips with the England bowlers as they closed still 407 behind and facing a huge uphill battle over the next three days.
It was Ali’s day as he became England’s second number seven to score a century in the calendar year – the first country to achieve such a feat.
Sri Lanka had an eye on wrapping up the innings quickly but their earliy sloppiness in the field did no favours, spilling two simple chances within the opening overs.
Chris Woakes eventually succumbed outside the off stump and Stuart Broad followed in similar fashion, handing Nuwan Pradeep a fourth wicket.
Mathews, however, opted for a spread field and allowed Ali to manouvere the ball around en route to his three figures, though he brought it up with a spectacular boundary down the ground off Pradeep.
He went on the attack therein, launching Herath and Lakmal for big sixes, as Finn provided ample support when forced on strike.
Anderson did similar when replacing Middlesex man, even reverse sweeping Herath for four in his first over.
And when Ali reached his 150, captain Cook called time to give the bowlers chance to make a succession of inroads on day two.
Just as at Headingley, England’s opening pair caused all sorts of problems with the new ball as an all-too familiar top-order collapse ensued.
Dimuth Karunaratne stepped across his stumps as Anderson’s delivery shaved the leg stump; Kaushal Silva, Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews were all undone by England’s nagging consistency outside the off stump and edged behind the wicket.
Only Mendis, a former Under-19 captain, showed the required application while also putting away a series of commanding drives.
But when he and Milinda Siriwardana fell on 67 in a Woakes burst of 3/5 from the Finchale End, it looked like the Sri Lankans might even follow on during the same evening.
Lahiru Thirimanne and Herath dug in for a 21-run partnership to put England at bay, putting on the visitors’ longest stand of the series (16.2 overs).
The latter fell before the end, caught by Anderson in the slip cordon off Broad, and Eranga fell victim to a superb deflected slip catch eventually completed by Joe Root in the same over.
The hosts are now in a seemingly unassailable position after the second day.
Did you attend today? Your feedback is vital to us. Please complete this short survey.
Regular wickets ensured Sri Lanka kept England in check on 310/6 on the first day of the second Investec Test match at Emirates Riverside.
Both Alex Hales and Joe Root reached the 80s as England cruised to 200/3 during the afternoon session.
But the Sri Lankan bowlers stuck to their guns, aided by a number of sensational catches, to keep themselves within touching distance.
Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali almost saw the day out until the former edged behind with four overs remaining in the day.
The visitors need to finish England off quickly in the morning but can be more than pleased with their efforts after the first day.
Any one of four exceptional catches could stake a claim as the best of Day One.
Alastair Cook, chasing his 10,000th Test run, fell 15 short as the first wicket of the day, fending away from his body and Dimuth Karunaratne held an excellent catch off Suranga Lakmal.
If that was good the bowler would outdo his efforts, diving backwards two-handed to remove Nick Compton at long leg.
However, Root and Hales built a solid partnership as the former went about his innings in a typically fluent fashion while Hales launched Milinda Siriwardana for a huge six.
Rather than capitalising the Nottinghamshire opener fell immediately after as captain Angelo Mathews flung himself away to his right at slip and held a brilliant catch.
The next two were rather needless wickets, however, as Root spooned one up to the covers and James Vince drove Siriwardana loosely to short cover, albeit via an excellent catch by Lahiru Thirimanne.
Bairstow and Ali regrouped for 62-run partnership and looked to be seeing out the day until the Yorkshireman was dismissed two short of his half century.
And Bairstow’s wicket swung the momentum back towards neutal ahead of tomorrow’s play, with a big crowd set to be in place at Emirates Riverside.
Tickets are available on the day via Gate 2 and gates open at 9am.
Did you attend today? Your feedback is vital to us. Please complete this short survey.