Kumar Sangakkara addressed a glaring omission on his outstanding CV by making his first Test hundred at the home of cricket on a day of predictably hard grind for England's bowlers.

Sri Lanka spent five sessions of this first Investec Test trying to contain England's march to 575 for nine declared.

Thanks to Sangakkara (147), captain Angelo Mathews (79no) and Mahela Jayawardene (55), the roles were reversed as Sri Lanka took their turn to bat on a benign Lord's surface.

England could not stop Sangakkara matching Test hundreds to his age - 36 - but a stumps total of 415 for seven meant the hosts had a three-figure first-innings lead in their sights.

Of his first Lord's century Sangakkara said: "It's something I've always wanted to do. Coming on this tour, which might be my last Test tour to England, I just wanted to enjoy it. If it happened, it would happen.

"I just did a bit of preparation, changed a bit in my technique right from the start and I'm pretty happy it worked. It's a very special place to play your cricket at, and Sri Lankans have done pretty well individually here."

It was all the more memorable for Sangakkara, as his friend Jayawardene, who has scored two hundreds at Lord's, was at the other end.

The two put on 126 for the third wicket, though Jayawardene could not follow his ally to three figures after being trapped in front by Stuart Broad for 55.

Sri Lanka comfortably avoided the follow-on, and it appears a draw is now inevitable.

Sangakkara added: "It's a pity we couldn't keep England to 400 or just below because if that had happened it would have been a really interesting game with us more in the driving seat.

"Right now, England will try and get the next three wickets and try and put the pressure back on us, but if we bat well … it'll be a very good Test match."

England dismissed opener Kaushal Silva on a gloomy morning and were then shut out for more than two-and-a-half hours as Sangakkara and Jayawardene took over .

The upshot was a stand of 126. Sangakkara cover-drove Joe Root on the up for his 10th four to reach three figures from 182 balls.

The moment overcame not just him but also the usually under-stated Jayawardene, who charged up the pitch to embrace his third-wicket partner mid-celebration with a neck-high bear hug.

It was not until after Jayawardene had a 90-ball 50 that England struck again, when the second new ball helped Broad to win an lbw verdict against him.

Anderson then nipped out Lahiru Thirimanne just before tea, but Sangakkara and Mathews were having none of the follow-on and made a fifth-wicket stand of 96.

Sangakkara uniquely had a third hundred in three consecutive Test innings, for the third time in his career, and was pressing on when he lost concentration, cutting Moeen Ali and edged an off-break behind.

Mathews had already raced past 50 in 64 balls, but Cook's sharp field placement brought another evening wicket, when Prasanna Jayawardene speared a half-volley from Plunkett to leg-slip Ian Bell, and Jordan had Nuwan Kulasekara edging behind just before stumps.