Pietersen cracked 142, including a reverse sweep for six, out of England's 295 all out on the second day.

Sri Lanka closed at 86 for four, still trailing by 68.

After Pietersen's fireworks England lost their last five wickets for five runs, with off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan taking six for 86.

When Sri Lanka batted again, 154 behind, swing bowler Matthew Hoggard and left-arm spinner Monty Panesar collected two wickets each.

Upul Tharanga departed first, caught behind to Hoggard's fourth ball of the innings, collecting a pair in the match.

Kumar Sangakkara clipped Panesar's fifth ball to Paul Collingwood at midwicket for 18 and Mahela Jayawardene was lbw to a Hoggard ball that kept low.

Panesar then had Thilan Samaraweera stumped for eight as play went on into the evening to compensate for the 80 minutes lost at the start of play after overnight rain.

Samaraweera was dropped on two by Geraint Jones off Panesar. Opener Vandort was unbeaten at the close on 30 and Tilleratne Dilshan was on 21.

Pietersen, who struck 158 in the first test at Lord's to equal his previous highest test score set against Australia in last year's Oval test, became the first Englishman since Graham Gooch in 1990 to make hundreds in three straight test innings at home.

England passed Sri Lanka's total in the 36th over when Pietersen drove Muralitharan's first delivery of the day through extra cover for four. The shot set the tone of things to come.

The right-hander continued his aggressive approach after lunch, going from his 65 at the interval to his fourth test century off just 31 deliveries.

His most audacious display of confidence came with his reverse-sweep against a Muralitharan full toss, for six over cover point.
Clearly irritated

Muralitharan, clearly irritated, trapped Pietersen lbw two deliveries later with his doosra. Pietersen had faced just 157 balls and plundered 20 boundaries and three sixes.

He put on 69 with Collingwood (19) and 52 with Andrew Flintoff. Skipper Flintoff, bowled for nine by Lasith Malinga, played a subdued innings of almost an hour but it said more about Pietersen's dominance than Flintoff's struggle.

Some of Pietersen's shots bordered on the patronizing. Two fours off Nuwan Kulasekera were bottom-handed flicks powerful enough to travel straight down the ground to the boundary.

He reached his hundred with an on-drive, also against Kulasekera, and his celebration was typically animated as he jumped in the air and dropped his bat in the process.

Possibly his one moment of fortune came when he missed a sweep shot against Muralitharan when on 104, but umpire Darrell Hair gave runs to what he saw as a bottom edge.

England's batting fell away at the end as Flintoff, Liam Plunkett (0), Geraint Jones (4) and Panesar (0) all failed. Muralitharan claimed his 52nd five-wicket haul in test cricket.

Source: Sport CNN

England's day of frustration
From Julian Guyer in Birmingham
May 28, 2006 from Fox sports )

SRI Lanka's Michael Vandort stood firm to keep England at bay in the second Test at Edgbaston overnight.

At stumps on a weather-affected third day, Sri Lanka was 5-194 in its second innings, a slender lead of 40, with Vandort 89 not out and Farveez Maharoof unbeaten on nought.

Left hander Vandort and Tillakaratne Dilshan (59) put on 125 for the fifth wicket to dent England's hopes of going 1-0 up in the three-Test series.

But just when it seemed Sri Lanka would get through the day without losing a wicket, Dilshan was lbw to Matthew Hoggard with 20 balls remaining, leaving Sri Lanka 5-181.

But, as it did in the drawn opener at Lord's, where it batted 199 overs and 14 hours to save the game after following-on, Sri Lanka was showing much more fight in the second innings than its first.

Rain meant the day's first two sessions were washed out completely.

Nevertheless, with 34 overs left, Sri Lanka resumed on 4-86, 68 runs behind. Vandort was 30 not out with Dilshan on 21.

England was without paceman Liam Plunkett, who'd led the attack with 3-43 in Sri Lanka's meagre first innings 141, who has a right shoulder injury sustained while fielding on Friday.

An England statement said a scan had showed no significant damage and Plunkett later returned to the field but, as the statement had indicated, he did not bowl again as a precaution.

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Meanwhile, Vandort, 26, responded to the introduction of Monty Panesar by lofting the left-arm spinner's second ball for four.

Vandort, in only his fifth Test, then completed his third Test fifty, and first against England, off 162 balls with five boundaries.

Dilshan, batting steadily, took Sri Lanka into the lead with a single off Panesar in the 61st over before Vandort raised the pair's hundred partnership off 209 balls.

England was finding the pair difficult to dislodge and a controlled pull off captain Andrew Flintoff saw Dilshan to his ninth Test fifty, and second in as many matches after his first Test 69, in 87 balls with seven fours.

But Panesar's first ball back saw Dilshan, on 58, appear fortunate to see Australia umpire Darrell Hair turn down a confident lbw appeal.

England made 295 on Friday with Kevin Pietersen scoring 142 in just 157 balls.

But star off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan kept Sri Lanka in the contest with 6-86, the 52nd time he'd taken five or more wickets in a Test innings.

Scoreboard (stumps day three)
Sri Lanka 1st innings 141
England 1st innings 295
Sri Lanka 2nd innings (overnight 4-86)
M VANDORT not out 89
U THARANGA c Jones b Hoggard 0
K SANGAKKARA c Collingwood b Panesar 18
M JAYAWARDENE lbw b Hoggard 5
T SAMARAWEERA st Jones b Panesar 8
T DILSHAN lbw b Hoggard 59
F MAHAROOF not out 0
Sundries (7lb, 1w, 7nb) 15
Total; five wickets for 194
Fall: 2, 38, 43, 56, 181
Bowling: Hoggard 6-52-3 (5nb); Flintoff 13-2-34-0 (1nb, 1w); Plunkett 7-4-10-0; Panesar 25-4-72-2; Mahmood 9-2-19-0; Collingwood 2-2-0-0
Overs: 74. Batting time: 312 mins
Toss: Sri Lanka
Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and Darrell Hair (Aus)
TV umpire: Ian Gould (Eng)
Match referee: Alan Hurst (Aus)

England beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in the second Test with a day to spare on Sunday to go one up in the three-Test series.

England bowled out the visitors for 231 in their second innings just before lunch after stiff resistance from opener Michael Vandort, who scored 105 before falling, the last man out, to Liam Plunkett.

England lost Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, first-innings centurion Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood on the way to their target of 78.

Sri Lanka spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan took all four for a 10-wicket match haul.

The first Test at Lord's was drawn.

The third Test starts in Nottingham on Friday.

Well done to England.