A second, successive sub-standard performance with the bat saw South Africa undo their significantly improved showing with the ball to go 2-0 down in the series. On a slow surface, batting was laboured, and Sri Lanka's attack was able to defend with ease, the spinners getting the opposition batsmen into a tangle, again.
South Africa's challenge was dealt a serious blow before it even began. Hashim Amla, who missed the first match with a neck niggle but recovered in time for this one, was injured in the field and could not open the batting. Amla slipped in the 43rd over while trying to field a ball at fine leg. He fell on his knee and was immediately taken to hospital for a scan.
Having dropped Colin Ingram to make way for Amla, South Africa needed another makeshift opener and pushed Robin Peterson up the order. He became the first spinner to open both the batting and the bowling for the country, having been given the first new ball earlier, but it was not an occasion for celebration.
Peterson watched as his partner, Alviro Petersen was dropped off the fourth ball of the innings but he had no such reprieve. He kept out one Lasith Malinga yorker but was comprehensively beaten by the next, which crashed into the stumps to see South Africa's opening stand broken in the first over.
Petersen and JP Duminy seemed to settle, with both hitting boundaries that showed their class, but they only had a 32-run stand to show for it. Thisara Perera managed some superb movement and got Duminy to feather an edge to Kumar Sangakkara.
Rangana Herath struck in his first over again, getting Petersen lbw playing for turn to one that went straight on. Tillakaratne Dilshan removed AB de Villiers on review when the South Africa captain missed a sweep. When Faf du Plessis was caught behind in the next over to become Herath's 50th ODI wicket, South Africa were 69 for 5 and defeat was imminent.
With rain looming, David Miller and Ryan McLaren tried to keep up with the Duckworth-Lewis target but they had fallen too far behind. Form in the top order has been exposed as severely lacking by Sri Lanka's wily attack. With none of Duminy, de Villiers or du Plessis posting a half-century in their last five innings, South Africa's batting will have to improve even more than their bowling did in this match.
Although the South Africa attack sent down 14 wides, they found their lines quicker than they had on Saturday. Morne Morkel struck the first blow when he had Upul Tharanga caught by Peterson at mid-wicket but South Africa would have shuddered to see the in-form Sangakkara stride out.
He immediately added stability with the first boundary of the innings, a well-timed flick through the leg side off a wayward Chris Morris delivery. Sangakkara continued to place the ball well even as Dilshan grew frustrated but he was dismissed against the run of play, to a spinner. Sangakkara was tempted by Aaron Phangiso's persistent flight and could not clear extra cover.
Dilshan had to take on the role of anchor and played an uncharacteristically watchful knock. For 36 deliveries after Sangakkara departed, Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene could not find the boundary and had to content themselves with nudging for singles.
In their 40-run stand, Jayawardene had one shot in anger, a back-foot punch through point, before missing a reverse-sweep and being cleaned up by Peterson.
Dilshan's vigil ended soon after. He got a thick edge off Morkel and de Villiers took a sharp, one-handed catch to his right to send the last of Sri Lanka's senior batsmen on his way. It was up to the young captain, Dinesh Chandimal, to steady Sri Lanka.
He survived a rain interval and the loss of both Jehan Mubarak and Perera but not du Plessis' instincts. Chandimal was out to a superb catch but his 43 proved crucial to helping Sri Lanka post a competitive score on a surface where batting became more difficult, and he can now look forward to sealing the series on Friday.
49.2 overs Sri Lanka 223 for 9 (Dilshan 43, Chandimal 43, Morkel 3-34) v South Africa
South Africa's bowlers were significantly improved after their Saturday showing on a slow surface that made batting laboured. Despite no changes to their bowling personnel, their attack kept Sri Lanka in check as it showed more discipline and greater penetration to leave their batsmen a chaseable target to go after.
They may have to do that without Hashim Amla. The opening batsman sat out the first match with a neck niggle but recovered in time for this game. But, in the 43rd over, Amla was injured as he tried to cut off a ball on the fine-leg boundary when he slipped and fell on his knee. He was helped off the field and taken for a scan immediately.
Should he be ruled out of the match, South Africa's loss could prove more significant than the one they caused Sri Lanka when they dismissed the in-form Kumar Sangakkara relatively cheaply to avoid a repeat of his feat in the previous match.
Sangarakka was required as early as the third over when Morne Morkel had Upul Tharanga caught by Robin Peterson - who also opened the bowling in a surprise move - at midwicket, and he immediately added stability. He scored the innings' first boundary, a well-timed flick through midwicket, off a Chris Morris' delivery that strayed too much on the pads and hinted at more South African ill-discipline.
Although tighter than they were in the first match, South Africa still sent down 14 wides. Their best bowler, Morkel, was the guiltiest party and appeared uncomfortable with his lines. In his third over, he was bowling from over the wicket to Sangakkara but went wide, so switched to around and on bowling too full, changed back.
What South Africa did well was field better, use the short ball to better effect and plug the gaps to make batting even more difficult than the surface allowed. They strung together short series of dot balls and only allowed an occasional release in the early part of the innings.
While Tillakaratne Dilshan's frustration grew, Sangakkara appeared in no great hurry. He showed his prowess against both left-arm spin and offspin but against the run of play, fell to a spinner. Sangakkara was tempted by Phangiso's persistent flight and could not clear extra cover.
Dilshan had to take on the role of anchor and played an uncharacteristically watchful knock. For 36 deliveries after Sangakkara departed, Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene could not find the boundary and had to content themselves with nudging and nurdling for singles. In their 40-run stand, Jayawardene had one shot in anger, a back-foot punch through point, before missing a reverse-sweep and being cleaned up by Peterson.
Dilshan's vigil ended 13 balls later. He got a thick edge off Morkel and de Villiers took a sharp, one-handed catch to his right to send the last of Sri Lanka's senior batsman on his way.
Lahiru Thirimanne struggled to get going in the first match and battled even more on a tricker surface. He could not get any of the bowlers away and was out in the first ball of the Powerplay, lbw to McLaren.
It was up to the young captain, Dinesh Chandimal, to steady Sri Lanka. He survived the rain interruption and the loss of both Jehan Mubarak and Thisara Perera but not Faf du Plessis' instincts. After 43 hard-fought runs, Chandimal got hold of a Morkel short ball and slashed to point. Du Plessis dived and took the catch with both hands.
In contrast to the 103 runs, Sri Lanka scored in the last 10 overs on Saturday, they managed only 56 this time, although the innings ended four balls early. That may be an indication of how difficult it is to bat and South Africa will know they will have to improve in that department too if they hope to level the series.
25 overs Sri Lanka 103 for 2 (Dilshan 33*, Jayawardene 16*) v South Africa
South Africa's bowlers were significantly improved after their Saturday showing on a slow surface, which did not show any signs of bite in spite of the morning rains. Despite no changes to their bowling attack, they kept Sri Lanka in check for the first half of their innings through a combination of better lines and more challenging batting conditions.
Importantly, they also dismissed Kumar Sangakkara relatively cheaply, for 37, to avoid a repeat of his feat in the previous match. Sangakkara was required as early as the third over when Morne Morkel had Upul Tharanga superbly caught by Robin Peterson - who also opened the bowling in a surprise move - at mid-wicket and the Sri Lanka batsman immediately added stability.
He scored the innings' first boundary, a well-timed flick through mid-wicket, off a Chris Morris delivery that strayed too much on the pads and hinted at more South African ill-discipline. Although tighter than they were in the first match, South Africa still struggled with the finer points of their bowling.
After eight overs, they had bowled an extra over thanks to six wides. Morkel was uncomfortable with his line, bowling from over the wicket to Sangakkara. He switched to around the wicket and then went too full only to change back, the next ball. Even the usually reliable Ryan McLaren started with a short ball, which Sangakkara dispatched over square leg and bowled a leg-side wide in his first over.
South Africa did well today to plug the gaps. They strung together short series of dot balls and only allowed an occasional release. Tillakaratne Dilshan's frustration grew but he hung in while Sangakkara appeared in no great hurry. He danced down the track to Aaron Phangiso and steered JP Duminy through backward point, playing late. Both resulted in boundaries.
Against the run of play, Sangakkara was tempted by Phangiso's flight and could not clear extra cover. Alviro Petersen, who dropped Tharanga in the first match, held on.
Dilshan remained watchful and showed willingness to be patient on a difficult pitch. His partnership with Mahela Jayawardene matched resilience with resolve and they accelerated as the halfway mark approached. If Dilshan can manage to bat through the innings, South Africa will find themselves with a competitive target to chase.
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