Southampton, June 20: Sri Lanka's stand-in captain Kumar Sangakkara struck a defiant century to deny England victory in the third and final cricket Test here on Monday.
A draw gave England a 1-0 win in this three-match series after an innings and 14-run win in the first Test in Cardiff was followed by stalemate at Lord's.
Rain, which robbed the first Test ever staged at the Rose Bowl of 155 overs on the first three days, had the final say when a downpour during the tea interval on the fifth day brought this match to a premature close.
Sri Lanka were 5-334 in their second innings in reply to England's first innings 8-377 declared, a lead of 141, having lost just two wickets on the last day.
One of those was Sangakkara, out shortly before tea for 119 when the left-hander's square cut off James Anderson was caught by substitute Adam Rouse at backward point.
His exit ended a fifth-wicket stand of 141 with Thilan Samaraweera, who was left stranded on 87 not out.
Sangakkara had managed just 65 runs in five previous innings this series but, leading Sri Lanka in the absence of the injured Tillakaratne Dilshan, he showed his class with a 25th Test century.
Sri Lanka resumed on Monday on 3-112, 81 runs behind, with Sangakkara 44 not out and nightwatchman Rangana Herath unbeaten on two, in overcast, seam bowler-friendly conditions.
When first-change Stuart Broad came on, Herath, primarily a left-arm spinner, pulled him for a well-struck boundary. Broad later twice left the field with a bruised left heel.
Herath was eventually lbw on the backfoot to off-spinner Swann after missing a sweep for a gutsy 36.
Sri Lanka reached lunch on 4-226, with Sangakkara 89 not out and Samaraweera 26 not out.
England and Sri Lanka now face each other in a Twenty20 match and five one-day internationals, starting with the Twenty20 contest in Bristol on Saturday.
England's Chris Tremlett was named both man of the match and player of the series. He took 6-48 as Sri Lanka was dismissed for 184 in its first innings at the Rose Bowl and had 15 wickets in the three matches.
“I wasn't expecting the pitch to have as much bounce as it did,” Tremlett said at the post-match awards ceremony. “It's good to have a bit of bounce in the pitch and to take advantage of that.”
Sangakkara, who retired as team captain in May, had to be convinced to resume the role after Tillakaratne Dilshan broke his thumb in the last game. He was caught off the bowling of James Anderson today. Several match sessions were lost to the weather, and the game was ended when play couldn't be resumed because of rain after tea.
The only other wicket to fall today was that of night- watchman Rangana Herath, dismissed for 36 after Sri Lanka resumed on 112-3. Thilan Samaraweera finished on 87 and Prasanna Jayawardene made 6, with Sri Lanka having built a lead of 141 by the time play ended.
Ian Bell's unbeaten 119 had given England a chance of victory as he helped the team to 377-8 declared, a first-innings lead of 193.
Third-ranked England begins a four-Test series against No. 1 India on July 21.
