Leg-spinner Adil Rashid revelled in his potent bowling partnership with Ben Stokes after England moved a step closer to whitewashing Sri Lanka on their own turf.
The tourists' hopes of forcing a 3-0 clean sweep in Colombo appeared to be fading on day two as Dimuth Karunaratne and Dhananjaya de Silva compiled a stand of 142.
But from 173-1 the hosts collapsed to 240 all out as Rashid secured career-best figures of 5-49. Stokes was just as impressive, picking up 3-30 in a sustained spell of pace bowling.
"It worked out perfectly," said Rashid. "Stokesy at one end bowling nice and aggressive and me at the other end mixing it up, bowling my variations. It all happened very quickly.
"It was a simple plan for me: to be attacking, bowl my variations, try and get the ball spinning both ways, get the batsmen playing certain shots. Stokesy had his own plan, be aggressive, run in, rough them up.
"We all know what Ben brings to the table, he's a match-winner, a world-class performer. He came out there with a certain game plan and just gave it his all. At the other end I was just trying to mix it up and I got my rewards as well.
"We always have that belief going into that session. They played exceptionally well before but we had a positive mindset and knew if we stick to our plan things would change."
Three of Rashid's victims were caught by Keaton Jennings at short-leg, including a stunning one-handed grab to see off Roshen Silva.
Jennings also caught Danushka Gunathilaka off Jack Leach, following the batsman down the track to gather a flick.
"As a spinner it's nice having him there, we're happy!" said Rashid. "He's made a big difference and he's proved he's an exceptional short-leg fielder. He reads the game well, he's alert, he practices hard in the morning and he gets his rewards."
De Silva reflected: "Jennings moves around all the time, stops all the singles and takes all the catches, he was the man who turned the game around."
Watch day three of the third Test between Sri Lanka and England live from 4.15am on Sunday on Sky Sports Cricket (channel 404) and Sky Sports Main Event (channel 401).