Joe Root continued his golden patch with bat and slammed 186 runs to put England in a fighting position in the game.
England overcame the early loss of wickets to end the second day of the second Test against Sri Lanka at 98 for two with skipper Joe Root leading the charge with an unbeaten 67, as the visitors replied to Sri Lanka's 381 in the first innings
The 38-year-old Anderson is the first pacer in the history of Test cricket to scalp 600 wickets and is also the fourth-highest wicket-taker.
A fine century from Mathews, along with a half-century from Chandimal and Thirimanne's 43, formed the bedrock of Sri Lanka's first-innings display.
At stumps, Sri Lanka's score read 156/2 with Thirimanne and Lasith Embuldeniya in the middle. The hosts are trailing by 130 runs in their second innings with eight wickets in the bag.
Bess took full advantage of the spin-friendly conditions in Galle to end with figures of 5/30, his second five-wicket haul in the longest format of the game.
Beyond the impressive cricket, the black armbands worn by England’s cricketers in white have also caught the eye of fans.
The 45-year-old Kallis worked in a similar role with the Proteas last year in the Test series against England.
England's leading wicket-taker James Anderson remains absent as he recovers from a cracked rib sustained during the recent tour of South Africa.
Bayliss has said that he is hoping that Ben Stokes will be available for England next game against West Indies in January after his disciplinary hearing early next month.