Smith went from 72 not out in a single day to 111 on the third morning at Emirates Outdated Trafford, lifting the hosts to 358 and a sizeable lead of 122.
With simply three overs earlier than lunch to press dwelling their benefit England made the dream begin with the brand new ball, Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson each placing as Nishan Madushka and Kusal Mendis fell for geese.
On the interval Sri Lanka had stumbled to 10 for 2, going through the actual risk of a three-day defeat.
An unimaginable expertise 👏A significant innings 🏏A really shiny future 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hTub3LxKGH
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 23, 2024
The stage was set by Smith, who fell for 95 in his earlier knock in opposition to the West Indies final month. In solely his fifth Check innings he performed a beautiful hand to substantiate his standing as a quickly rising star at dwelling on the massive stage.
Promoted to quantity six instead of the injured Ben Stokes, the wicketkeeper got here to the crease at 125 for 4 and at last departed with England 79 forward on 315.
He hit eight fours and a six in his 148-ball keep, a measured efficiency that relied on focus and composure as a lot because the attacking aptitude he’s recognized for.
Issues have been nonetheless within the stability in the beginning of play, England simply 23 in entrance on 259 for six, however Sri Lanka have been unable to discover a foothold.
They have been flat for the primary half-hour, permitting Smith and his Surrey team-mate Atkinson to seek out their rhythm. Smith, maybe cautious of his close to miss at Edgbaston, appeared totally targeted on nailing his hundred and constructed some confidence with a few punchy pushed boundaries off Asitha Fernando.
He didn’t rush his approach by way of the nineties, finally getting to 3 figures with a flick off the hips and a dashed two. His response was admirably restrained however the Manchester crowd made positive to mark the second in model.
Atkinson fell for 20 when debutant Milan Rathnayake had him caught down leg and Smith’s polished effort lastly got here to an finish when he lashed at a large one from Prabath Jayasuriya and nicked by way of to the keeper.
England added one other 43 runs for the final two wickets, each painful for the vacationers, with Mark Wooden clubbing three fours and a six on his strategy to 22.
Sri Lanka had little greater than 10 minutes to outlive however endured a horror begin, Woakes cleansing up Madushka providing no stroke and Atkinson nipping out Mendis off the skin edge.