Conditions were markedly different from Old Trafford yet it was still another remarkable turnaround in fortunes. Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan added 172 for the second wicket - Sri Lanka's third best stand for that wicket in ODIs - to form the backbone of the total, but England fought back well in the final 10 overs with regular wickets ensuring the target was not quite as steep as could have been the case. A final-ball boundary by Ajantha Mendis enabled Sri Lanka to cross a psychological marker and England have never chased this many in a home ODI.
Sangakkara, whose previous best at Lord's in any format was 65, needed 13 balls to get off the mark but then progressed silkily to his hundred off 95 deliveries. The first of his 14 boundaries, a hook against Chris Jordan, did not come until his 27th ball but it was the three in a row he took off Joe Root that really launched his innings. When he was stumped off James Tredwell in the 43rd over he left to a standing ovation.
It was little surprise that Alastair Cook inserted Sri Lanka again. Although a repeat of what happened in Manchester was unlikely, he would have hoped to open a few scars, particularly as the sky clouded over as the start time arrived.
Kusal Perera, who was brought in to replace Dinesh Chandimal as Sri Lanka shuffled their order with Lahiru Thirimanne moving to No. 5, made a swashbuckling start, which included a crunching six over deep midwicket before falling to a horrid hack across the line against Harry Gurney, the most consistent of England's seamers early on.
Dilshan scratched around, reaching 13 off 29 deliveries, before scooping James Anderson and following that with another boundary to fine leg. He almost fell at the end of the same over, however, when he gloved the ball attempted to leave alone.
Against the previous scripts, Root was the first change bowler but the man of the moment, Jordan, was soon into the fray and not shy of slotting into bouncer mode
Sangakkara worked hard to find his timing before he clicked into gear with three consecutive boundaries off Root; twice using his feet to loft down the ground and then a peachy cover drive. Beautiful footwork also helped him beat mid-on off Tredwell and he latched on to loose deliveries from Ravi Bopara, who strayed on both sides of the wicket. The 10 overs combined of Bopara and Root cost 76 runs.
Dilshan brought up his half-century the ball after Sangakkara but it always more of a battle for him. His last 21 runs soaked up 37 deliveries and he was also discomforted after a collision with Root in the bowler's follow through, when he dived across to try and cut off a single and ended up taking Dilshan down, his leg getting trapped under Root's body.
He fell in the first over of the batting Powerplay, attempting to sweep a full delivery from Anderson which took leg stump, and England regain a semblance of control. Mahela Jayawardene has been short of runs in this series and it was a scratchy innings from him. He was close to being taken at backward point but Eoin Morgan acknowledged the catch had not carried off Gurney, but in the left-armer's next over he popped a catch to mid-off.
Sangakkara's wicket came in Tredwell's final over - deserved success for another thrifty spell - and the late acceleration did not emerge as would have been envisaged from such a strong position. Thirimanne was caught at short fine-leg after consultation with the TV umpire then Jordan struck twice in three deliveries in his final over, although 2 for 67 was a sharp contrast to a few days ago, and Gurney also claimed two in the last over of the innings. However, the odds on there being a series decider have improved significantly.
