Alastair Cook admitted his England team had been outplayed after Sri Lanka eased to a 2-0 lead in the seven-match one-day international series.
Sri Lanka won by eight wickets after England managed only 185 at Colombo's Premadasa Stadium.
England captain Cook said: "Sri Lanka totally outplayed us. It has been a tough few days and it will be good to move on from Colombo and make a fresh start in the series."
England did have some hope after reducing Sri Lanka to 30 for two, but Mahela Jayawardene (77no) and Kumar Sangakkara (67no) came in and saw the hosts cruise home.
"They bowled very tightly and we just kept losing wickets," Cook said. "When they batted we had to try to make something happen, but we couldn't just get the breakthrough. At 30 for two we had a chance, but those two are class players and they just took the game away from us."
Jayawardene, who was named man of the match, insisted England's total had not been a straightforward target.
He said: "One hundred and eighty is always going to be a tricky score. We lost a couple of wickets early, but you have to make sure you still bat positively. Once we assessed the conditions the boundaries came along. I think anything around 240 would have been a more challenging total for us.
"I thought we bowled really well and with the bat we managed to control things. Winning's a good habit to have and it's good to be back doing things right."
Cook, 2-0 down with five matches to go, is already perilously on course to lead his country to his sixth consecutive one-day international series defeat, but he will pay little heed to the opinions of those "outside" his dressing-room, such as Kevin Pietersen.
Within seconds of England's defeat Pietersen was already in contact via Twitter - in the knowledge that even though Cook is not part of the social media network, he would soon get to hear the content.
Cast in the role of supporter after his sacking by England nine months ago, Pietersen sent his personal advice for Cook to step aside with the World Cup fast approaching in Australia and New Zealand.
"Dear Alastair, if you care about England's chances this winter, pls resign and just concentrate on Test cricket," he wrote.
Shortly afterwards former England captain Michael Vaughan, a critic last summer of Cook as an ODI batsman and captain, also made his feelings known on Twitter.
"It's not too late to change.... It's not too late to compete.... But England won't if they stay the same ..." Vaughan told his followers.
Responding to Pietersen, Cook said: "It's a good job I'm not on social media. People are totally entitled to their view. That's the nature of the beast when you're on the outside. People believe what they want to believe. In our dressing room, we've got to stay strong as a group.
"We're the guys who have the honour of playing for England at this moment in time, and we have guys who have the opportunity to turn it round - not other people outside."
Cook's poor form continues - he has not made an ODI hundred in 41 innings, a sequence stretching back more than two years - and he said: "I think you feel the heat when you're not scoring runs.
"If you have two games at the start of a tour, and don't score them, you're naturally going to start feeling that. That's only natural. But I've just got to do what I keep doing, believing in myself, doing my basics right."
His opposite number Angelo Mathews still expects England to improve as the series continues.
"We started off brilliantly," he said. "The bowlers set the tone for us and we kept taking wickets.
"But they're still a tough team to beat. They are a fighting unit, and will come back hard. We can't be complacent against them."
England will head south for Wednesday's third match in Hambantota, with much to prove.
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