By Jonathan Agnew BBC Sport cricket correspondent at Edgbaston

Sri Lanka ended day two of the second Test at Edgbaston on 86-4, still needing another 68 to make England bat again.

Kevin Pietersen's 142 was a truly remarkable innings.

Pietersen was in blistering form

Not only did he reduce Muttiah Muralitharan to the status of merely an ordinary Test bowler, but the scale of his contribution was put into perspective by the fact that his colleagues managed only 115 runs between them.

The highlight of Pietersen's century was a reverse sweep for six off Murali that flew into the Hollies Stand at square-leg.

It was a stroke of breathtaking audacity - not to mention sheer strength - and quite possibly the first time it has ever happened in Test cricket.

Between the brutal hits to leg, Pietersen reminded us of how he can also play delicate, deft and perfectly timed deflections.

Twice, having forced the bowler wider of the off-stump, he leant back and ran the ball behind point to the boundary.

Pietersen is genuinely a unique batsman.

England's first innings finished dramatically with a collapse of five wickets for five runs from 29 balls.

Muralitharan was the chief beneficiary to finish with 6-86 but Malinga also deserves credit for the excellent delivery that ripped out Andrew Flintoff's off-stump.

The biggest disappointments were Geraint Jones - who swept Murali to short fine-leg for four - and Liam Plunkett, who clubbed him to mid-on for a duck.

It squandered a wonderful opportunity for Plunkett to show what he is capable of producing with the bat - he is listed at number eight, after all.

Jones, meanwhile, is now averaging only 18 in his last eight Tests. He will need a score soon if he is to prevent the critics of his wicket-keeping from suggesting his batting is no longer his lifeline.

The dismissal of Mahela Jayawardene was a hammer blow for Sri Lanka.

Low bounce did for Jayawardene

It was a delivery that kept cruelly low and trapped him lbw for five to complete a disappointing match for the captain.

It might be of little consequence now, but the delivery underlined how wasteful England had been of their position earlier in the afternoon, and how dangerous batting on the last day might be on this wicket.

The forecast suggests that bad weather will prevent a prompt start on the third morning, but England appear to be on course to take a lead in the series.

They have appeared much more ruthless than at Lord's, and Flintoff has been more imaginative with his field placings and bowling changes.