Collingwood led England to a long-awaited win

Owais Shah's 82 proved the difference between the sides as England claimed a 65-run day-night victory in Dambulla.

"There's no point coming out here and only winning one game, We want to win a series," said Collingwood.

"This set the benchmark, the standards we want to keep for the rest of the series and go even higher if possible."

Interview: England captain Paul Collingwood

Despite slumping to 61-4 after choosing to bat first, England rallied to 234-8, before bowling out the home side for 169.

It was only the second time England have won a one-day match in Sri Lanka, with the previous win being under the captaincy of Ian Botham in 1982.

But although he was keen to revel in an impressive win, Collingwood said there was no room for complacency.

"I know Sri Lanka will bounce back hard and we have to be better every time we go onto the pitch," he said.

In all dimensions of the game - batting, bowling and fielding - they were fantastic Paul Collingwood

"This was exceptional, we've put in a special performance and there was a lot of hard work put in the nets and talking about the game and where we could improve. To take it onto the field so quickly is a special thing."

Shah's knock of 82 ended up having a big say in the outcome.

It showed a different side to his game than his 107 not out off 95 balls against India at The Oval, and Collingwood was impressed with what he saw from the Middlesex player.

"He was very patient and managed to find the areas that he could score in," said Collingwood.

"To get that kind of total, we knew if we took early wickets we could put them under pressure and that's what we did."

Shah shared vital partnerships of 78 and 70 with Collingwood (42) and Graeme Swann (34) after England had slumped to 61-4.

Shah is growing increasingly confident in his middle-order role

And their eventual total of 234-8 proved more than good enough as Sri Lanka struggled to come to terms with batting under the lights.

Collingwood was delighted by the all-round improvement shown by his team after their 119-run defeat in Monday's series opener.

"Obviously we were disappointed with the first game when we got comprehensively beaten.

"This time the boys showed a lot of character, bounced back really well and set the standard. In all dimensions of the game - batting, bowling and fielding - they were fantastic. We really set a benchmark here."

Man-of-the-match Shah cited the chance of a regular place in the side as an important factor in his recent successes for England, although his position at six in the order is a new one.

"I'm aware of the role that's required, it's just obviously [just a matter of] delivering.

"I've played a fair bit of cricket for Middlesex and although I bat at three, I do bat right through the innings, so it's just a matter of coming in in the middle order and just trying to see it through and have a bit of a go at the end," Shah said.

"To me it's all about keeping it simple - touch wood at the moment, things are going really well, I'm hitting the ball in good areas, which is what I want to do."

Spinner Swann, who followed his 34 with 2-27 from his 10 overs, added: "Ryan Sidebottom and Jimmy Anderson bowled superbly from the start, and the wickets they took made it a lot easier for us later on.

"In the first game, we saw how patient Sri Lanka were with the bat. When we were in a bit of trouble, that's what we remembered.