England decided to enforce follow-on after dismissing Sri Lanka for mere 101 on the third day of the second Test here at the Riverside Ground on Sunday.
In reply to England's first innings total of 498, the Lankan batters failed to counter the hosts' bowling attack and were eventually bundled out with a deficit of 397 runs.
The Angelo Mathews-led side, who started the day at 91-8, lost their remaining two wickets inside four overs.
For the hosts, Stuart Broad was the pick of the bowlers as he scalped four wickets while James Anderson and Chris Woakes claimed three wickets each.
Earlier, Moeen Ali smashed a blistering 155-run knock while Alex Hales (83) and Joe Root (80) also made significant contributions to strengthen their side to a huge total.
A victory in this match would see England take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. The Alastair Cook-led side won the first match by an innings and 88 runs at Headingley in Leeds.
At the time of reporting, Dimuth Karunaratne (25) and Kaushal Silva (11) have resumed the innings and were at 37-0.
