With home and away series against India and an Ashes tour to Australia all hovering into view, Root had called on the team to start with a bang against Sri Lanka - and demanded the same of himself.

The bowlers did their part by rolling over the hosts for just 135 on day one, a total that Root overhauled all on his own as he cruised to 168 not out on Friday.

That represented over half of the team's stumps total, 4-320 and provided the bulk of a towering 185-run lead.

Having not reached three figures since December 2019, the wait for an 18th Test hundred had gone far enough and the drought ended in a style as he defended strictly, swept with authority and compiled England's record score on the island with a disarming ease.

"I'm extremely pleased, I did a lot of talking before the game and ahead of this year I thought it was really important to go out there and do it myself," Root said.

"It felt like a long time coming and now I've got to build on this, really make it count. I want to make it as big as possible and drive this first innings lead as high as we can.

"When I was a little bit younger on previous trips I might have tried to play too many shots to the same ball. One thing I was really pleased with today was my shot selection.

"I felt I got a really good combination of defence and attack. Being a bit more ruthless, a bit more stubborn and trusting my defence a little bit more at times has certainly paid off this week."

Root's conversion rate from 50 to 100 has often dogged him as a weakness but even taking lunch on 99 not out did not throw him off here.

It is a problem many players across the world would love to experience and one Root is trying not to indulge any more.

"For the last year, two years, I've over-thought it massively. I've tried to get away from that," he said.

"I've made too big a deal of it in my own mind, hyped it up, and probably because of that it's been to my detriment.

"Generally when I do get to hundred I make it really count so tomorrow I'm trying to make that another really big one."

The last time Root scored a Test ton, against New Zealand in Hamilton 13 months ago, he went on to turn it into 226, a fate that Sri Lanka must fear on Saturday.

"We want to put them under pressure and bat just once," Root said.

He shared a fourth-wicket stand of 173 with debutant Dan Lawrence, who provided exactly 73 of them in what was a dashing first outing in international cricket.

"I was very impressed, I thought he played magnificently well," said Root.

"He showed exactly why he deserved his opportunity to play and it's the start of something very special for him."

Australian Associated Press