Kevin Pietersen hit a magnificent 151 off of just 165 balls to put England in control of their second Test against Sri Lanka.
The batsman finished as the team's highest run-scorer and also hit the highest total for an Englishman in Sri Lanka.
A slight blemish came via a warning from umpire Asad Rauf for time-wasting, after he attempted a switch-hit as bowler Tillakaratne Dilshan refused to carry out his delivery.
In his previous eight innings, he had scored just 100 runs at an average of a lowly 12.5.
Geoffrey Boycott, commentating on the BBC's Test Match Special, lavished praise upon the South African-born batsman.
"We didn't expect Pietersen to come and bat like he did," the Yorkshireman said.
"At times it was explosive and he didn't play any false shots until he got to 100. Most of his batting was exceptionally good."
Pietersen stressed after the day's play - which Sri Lanka ended on 4-0 - that there was "no drama" over the warning he was issued with over the switch-hit, and claimed the issue was regarding "timing".