England defeated Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the second and final Test in Colombo on Saturday to level the series 1-1 and retain their No.1 Test ranking.

The tourists bowled out Sri Lanka for 278 in their second innings and then chased down the modest victory target of 94 in the post-lunch session on the fifth day at the P. Sara Oval.

Opener Alastair Cook hit 49 not out while Kevin Pietersen smashed an unbeaten 42 off just 28 balls.

Sri Lanka opted to use spinners with the new ball and Tillakaratne Dilshan bowled England captain Andrew Strauss in the first over with no runs on the board.

Rangana Herath then trapped Jonathan Trott lbw for five with the total on 31.

England offspinner Graeme Swann earlier claimed 6-106 in Sri Lanka’s second innings to finish with a match haul of 10-181.

It was England’s first win in five Tests on their Asian sojourn this year after being blanked 3-0 by Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates and losing the first Test of this series in Galle.