Shaminda Eranga dismissed James Anderson with the penultimate ball of a nerve-shredding final day as Moeen Ali’s wonderful maiden century narrowly failed to spare England a first home series defeat by Sri Lanka.
The thrilling denouement, destined to go down as one of the most exciting finishes in Test history, provided a neat inversion of the opening game at Lord’s, when England had the tourists nine down but could not force victory.
And so Sri Lanka left Leeds with a 100-run win, a 1-0 series triumph and a clean tour sweep across all three formats.
But that does not tell the full story of a dramatic day that started with England on the cusp of a crushing defeat and ended moments away from defiant redemption.
That was all Moeen deserved after batting all day in just his second Test, facing 281 deliveries in six-and-a-half hours of teeth-gritting concentration.
And it was hard on Anderson, who dug deep for 54 scoreless balls before fending the 55th – a brutish bumper from Eranga – obligingly to Rangana Herath at leg gully to leave England 249 all out.
The tailender has one great escape on his CV, that memorable Ashes day alongside Monty Panesar in Cardiff in 2009, but this was a day for Sri Lankan celebrations.
They had arrived expecting little more than a clearing up job after reducing England to 57 for five on the fourth evening in pursuit of an unlikely 350, but the reality was rather different.
Sri Lanka had been rampant on the fourth evening, Dhammika Prasad an unlikely bogeyman picking off four top-order batsmen, but in the morning they struggled to recreate that. While England ended day four in a tailspin, they restarted with clear minds.
Joe Root was conspicuously defensive, scarcely offering a shot and rarely being forced to, with Moeen more ready to take runs when they were on offer.
In 17.4 overs, Root scored just three runs while Moeen managed 22 – including three boundaries off a noticeably tamer Prasad.
Rain came at 83 for one, first in showers and then heavily enough to force an early lunch.
No overs were lost as a result and when the sides returned an hour later, things became considerably edgier in the middle.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews appeared to be the instigator, using a break in play to launch some verbals in the direction of Root.
Root responded with a few choice words of riposte as tensions simmered enough for the umpires to step in at least twice.
Sri Lanka’s bowlers then indulged themselves in a period of aggressive short-pitched bowling, though whether it was by tactical design or personal antipathy towards the Yorkshireman was unclear.
Either way, Eranga succeeded in clattering Root clean on the helmet as well as forcing a couple of awkward fends away from the body.
Moeen was enjoying a more low-key time, with no real sledging and no threat to his wicket as the 50 partnership passed by quietly.
Root suddenly emerged from his shell, striking three boundaries in 10 deliveries, but his improved confidence may have contributed to his downfall.
Root was tempted by Nuwan Pradeep to flick one off his legs but was straightened up and saw a leading edge carry to Lahiru Thirimanne in the gully.
Moeen’s resistance continued with Matt Prior, with the all-rounder taking advantage of attacking fields with a couple of crisp fours off Herath. A gentle single brought his half-century.
Prior offered solid support for 15 overs but was undone when Prasad dug one at his ribs.
Just as he did against Eranga at Lord’s, Prior got in a tangle and diverted the ball to short-leg where Kaushal Silva held on to a low chance.
Sri Lanka chiselled out their third wicket of the day when Herath won an lbw against Chris Jordan’s non-committal forward press and Moeen, rock solid and alive to punishing the occasional loose balls, was running out of partners.
Number nine Stuart Broad ate up time – asking the umpires to assess the light, leaving the fielders waiting with an unscheduled dash from the pitch – but departed after 24 balls when Herath landed another leg before.
That left Anderson and Moeen with 20.2 overs to face.
Moeen took the strike where he could and endured a long wait in the 90s before a gift from Pradeep took him to his ton.
His low-key celebration showed there were bigger goals on the horizon and when he played out Prasad’s last over the match lay with Eranga and Anderson.
The No11 played four balls dutifully before being bested by the fifth, sending Sri Lanka into raptures as he slumped defeated to the ground.
