Joe Root hit a magnificent 186 but his dismissal from the final ball of the third day left Sri Lanka with a slight advantage in the second Test in Galle.
Root, who scored 228 in the first Test, was superbly run out by Oshada Fernando at short leg to leave England 339-9.
The England skipper had led the tourists’ recovery from 132-4 to a position where they closed just 42 runs adrift of Sri Lanka.
Left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya took a remarkable 7-132 for the hosts.
The 24-year-old, playing in only his ninth Test, dismissed Dom Bess and Mark Wood in the final half hour as Sri Lanka finished strongly on a day otherwise dominated by Root.
The right-hander put on 97 with Jos Buttler, who made 55, and shared a crucial stand of 81 for the seventh wicket with Bess.
Root’s innings – one of the finest of his career – saw him become the first England Test player since David Gower in 1985 to follow a double hundred with a score in excess of 150.
It prevented England conceding a significant first-innings deficit but, with him dismissed, Sri Lanka could still take a useful lead into their second innings.
England lead the two-Test series 1-0.