Thorpe: Carried his bat through the final Test

He followed an unbeaten first-innings total of 113 with a match-winning 32 not out after a spirited fightback from the Sri Lankans.

Ashley Giles, who took four second-innings wickets as Sri Lanka slumped to their second-lowest Test score, hit the winning run.

But it was Thorpe who was England's hero.

Victory had seemed a simple matter for England when they skittled Sri Lanka for 81 to leave them needing just 74 to win.

But the Sri Lankans bounced back to dismiss England's top six batsmen.

The hosts put up a desperate defence, dismissing Marcus Trescothick, Michael Atherton, Michael Vaughan, Alec Stewart, Craig White and Nasser Hussain in quick succession.

But they ran out of runs and it fell to Thorpe and Giles to take England home.

Skipper Sanath Jayasuriya sparked the last-gasp fightback, bringing himself into the attack for the first time in the Test.

He was rewarded with the wickets of Trescothick, Stewart and White while Dilhara Fernando and Muttiah Muralitharan chipped in with one apiece.

That collapse signalled the entry of injured England skipper Nasser Hussain, accompanied by his runner Stewart.

But there was to be no repeat of Hussain and Thorpe's heroics in Pakistan, the skipper falling to a brilliant close-in catch from Russel Arnold.

Gough gets the decision against Sri Lankan skipper Jayasuriya

Instead it fell to Giles to scramble the winning run and prompt a lap of honour by a euphoric England.

The tourists had wasted a promising first-innings position but forced themselves back on top with a brilliant performance in the field.

Giles took four wickets, Darren Gough three, Andy Caddick two and Robert Croft one after Thorpe had hit a century to give England an eight-run lead.

Gough made the breakthrough with the scalp of Marvan Atapattu and when he trapped Jayasuriya lbw in the seventh over, England never looked back.

Paceman Caddick outbowled Kumar Sangakkara, Alec Stewart taking a fine catch behind the stumps, and outthought Aravinda de Silva.

Caddick: Delighted after outwitting De Silva

Giles and Croft then came to the fore as skipper Nasser Hussain opted for a twin spin attack.

The tactic worked as an injured Hussain, who surprised many when he hobbled out of the pavilion to lead England's efforts in the field, took a catch at leg slip from the bowling of Croft

It was a controversial decision as Arnold clearly believed he had not made contact.

But umpire David Orchard called for a second opinion and Arnold was given out when the replay showed Hussain caught the ball cleanly.

Jayawardene (lbw) and Chaminda Vaas (caught) were Giles' next victims.

And the Warwickshire spinner claimed his third wicket shortly after tea, hitting Tuwan Dilshan's middle stump to leave Sri Lanka struggling on 76-8.

Vaas: Six for 73

Hussain turned the screw by bringing back Gough, who promptly tempted Fernando to smash it straight to Giles.

He stooped brilliantly to scoop it off the turf.

Giles then picked himself up off the floor to bowl the next over - and wrapped up the innings when he had Muttiah Muralitharan adjudged lbw as he attempted a reverse sweep.

The series-deciding Test had been left on a knife-edge when Vaas took five wickets to leaves the scores virtually even after the first innings.

The left-arm seamer dismissed Michael Vaughan, Craig White and Giles in a superb opening spell to blow apart England's hopes of building a commanding lead.

But Thorpe provided the backbone to England's roller-coaster innings, scoring his eighth Test century as he carried his bat.

He built crucial partnerships with Croft and Gough, who was crucially dropped first ball which allowed England to move from 16 behind to eight ahead.