An unbeaten century from Tillakaratne Dilshan and 91 from Kumar Sangakkara carried Sri Lanka to a series win over South Africa with one match to play. The pair ensured the hosts achieved the highest successful run chase at Pallekele with six overs to spare to underline some of South Africa's most pressing issues as they attempt to rebuild their one-day side.
At first glance, it would seem the bowlers are to blame but South Africa's middle-order are the real culprits in their defeat. Hashim Amla and JP Duminy shared a second-wicket stand of 101 to set a strong base for the team but the batsmen who followed squandered the advantage.
From 118 for 1, South Africa were 238 all out, losing nine wickets for 120 runs. By contrast, Dilshan and Sangakkara shared a partnership of 184 - Sri Lanka's highest against South Africa - to maintain their strong record at home against South Africa.
South Africa have only won two ODIs in Sri Lanka and their inability to adapt to conditions was exposed again. The absence of quality spinners and senior players to take responsibility in the batting line-up cost them dearly and they will now return to Colombo with only pride to play for.
South Africa began to make some amends for their failings with the bat and Hashim Amla's return was central to that. Amla, who missed the first and third match with injury and could not bat in the second, recovered in time to form one half of South Africa's fourth opening pair in as many matches.
While Quinton de Kock's inexperience was exposed against Lasith Malinga, when he was yorked for 8, Amla had the Sri Lankan attack erring. The seamers continually offered him too much width and he pulled and cut at will.
Amla and JP Duminy, who has looked good without producing results in the series so far, settled in and took the batting powerplay after 15 overs. That proved a tactical mistake. Sri Lanka's slew of spinners limited run-scoring opportunities and only 22 were scored in the five-over period.
The pair succeeded in planting a platform but Amla did not stick around to help the launch from it. He was lbw to Dilshan, who went around the wicket to trap him on the back foot, and even a review could not save him.
AB de Villiers' lean run continued as he was caught behind trying to paddle-sweep. Faf du Plessis also did not contribute, offering a chance to Angelo Mathews in his follow-through and eventually being stumped.
Ajantha Mendis foxed the less-experienced players, who have not learnt to pick him. David Miller was bowled by the legbreak and Farhaan Behardien clipped him straight to short leg.
The fall of wickets forced Duminy to continue a quiet vigil and his strike rate remained in the 60s, until the last four overs, when he finally decided to launch against Malinga. Duminy managed to improvise, turning would-be yorkers into low full-tosses, but Malinga's change of pace accounted for the tail.
Still, South Africa would have thought they had enough with 198 the previous-best successful chase in Pallekele. Their bowlers started well against a changed Sri Lankan top order - with Mahela Jayawardene replacing Upula Tharanga - as Morne Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobe extracted extra bounce and got movement, but ill-discipline infected them again. South Africa sent down 17 wides, taking their series total to 58, and indicating an obvious problem with line.
Jayawardene was frustrated by the early squeeze and when he tried to steer Tsotsobe to third man, he was caught by a diving Amla at gully. That was the last success South Africa saw until it was too late. Dilshan showed a willingness to ride out the pressure and looked for singles with Sangakkara instead of going for big shots to thwart the bowlers.
But South Africa still had their chances. Sangakkara was on three when he edged Kleinveldt but Amla could not pull off the half chance, and on 33, when Duminy appealed for an lbw against him. South Africa had a review in hand but de Villiers chose not to use it. Afterwards, he said neither Duminy nor de Kock, who was keeping, were convinced, Replays, though, showed Sangakkara was out.
His flirtation with fortune over, Sangakkara matches Dilshan blow for blow thereafter. Dilshan was strong square of the wicket and on the pull and brought out his trademark scoop off Tsotsobe. His century came off 119 balls with a swivel down to fine leg.
Sangakkara peppered the on-side, with 52 of his runs coming in that area. After Dilshan crossed the century mark, Sangakkara was racing against the remaining runs to get there. He smacked Morkel for two fours to get into the nineties, but fell on his sword when he top-edged to mid-off.
Dilshan finished things off to leave South Africa with plenty to think about. Foremost in their minds will be their poor effort in the field, and their decision-making under pressure, both of which need work before Wednesday.
25 overs Sri Lanka 103 for 1 (Dilshan 49*, Sangakkara 33*) need 136 runs to beat South Africa 238
Sri Lanka remained circumspect but on track to achieve the highest successful run chase in Pallekele and seal the series against South Africa. Although scoring remained slow - hovering around four runs to the over - on a sluggish track, they had lost only one wicket by the halfway stage and still required less than a run a ball to win.
Like South Africa, they made a change to their top two, moving Upul Tharanga down the order. Against South Africa's opening pair, Morne Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who are both capable of extracting bounce and moving the ball, a more watchful approach was needed and Mahela Jayawardene was asked to provide that.
Both new-ball bowlers got extra bounce while Tsotsobe got the ball to angle across Tillakaratne Dilshan. They were, however, ill-disciplined again and bowled six wides and a no-ball to ease the pressure they were creating.
Dilshan, who is now a more careful hitter, managed a couple of boundaries off short balls while Jayawardene brought out his drive occasionally. Both struggled because of limited scoring opportunities and Jayawardene eventually fell trying to hit out in the tenth over. He attempted to steer Tsotsobe to third man but Hashim Amla was positioned at gully and took a sharp catch to leave Sri Lanka 45 for 1.
Rory Kleinveldt, brought into the side because of a hamstring injury to Ryan McLaren, also asked questions of the Sri Lankan batsmen. He tempted them by pitching it up and induced the edge from Kumar Sangakkara but Amla could not manage another stunner.
South Africa's slow bowlers once again let the grip ease against players who are accomplished against spin. The left-armer Robin Peterson posed no threat to either batsman and they could work the ball around against him. South Africa's only other bowling option is Farhaan Behardien, but unless he can have a similar impact as he did in the third match, Sri Lanka only need to time their assault well to secure the trophy.
South Africa 238 (Duminy 97, Amla 77) v Sri Lanka
JP Duminy survived a middle-order wobble to finish three short of the first century of South Africa's tour and set Sri Lanka a competitive target of 239. In the process, he ended a dry spell of his own. Duminy's last score over 50 was seven innings ago, against Netherlands at the end of May.
Duminy's contribution, built on the back of the fit-again Hashim Amla's half-century, will require Sri Lanka to register the highest successful chase in Pallekele if they are to seal the series - a tough task on a slowing surface. Sri Lanka will take heart, though, from the problems they caused the rest of the South Africa line-up. Lasith Malinga made indentations at the top and tail of the innings, and the slew of spinners kept scoring to a minimum in the middle section.
They erred in allowing Amla too much width early on, which gave the opener an opportunity to underline his value to South Africa's ODI unit. Amla was ruled out of the first and third matches with injury and did not bat in the second after hurting himself when fielding and his return was welcomed by AB de Villiers. He found his timing immediately and batted with a freedom the rest have lacked.
His opening partner, Quinton de Kock, had no such luck. Preferred ahead of Alviro Petersen and Colin Ingram, de Kock had no chance against Malinga. De Kock faced only three balls from the mop-haired maestro and it was obvious Malinga was looking to york the youngster. His first two deliveries were full tosses and then he got the toe-crusher right to bowl de Kock for 8.
Malinga did not pose the same threat to Amla, against whom he tried the short ball. Amla pulled him with confidence, although he almost gloved one early on, and took three boundaries off his third over.
Sri Lanka were forced to introduce spin early in an attempt to stem the flow. Ajantha Mendis was brought on in the sixth over and Amla was immediately more watchful. He preferred to take on the likes of Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera, as both continued with a line too far outside the off stump.
With Amla in full flow, Duminy had time to settle in. He also found boundaries off the seamers and as the partnership grew, South Africa took the Powerplay after 15 overs. It proved an ill-timed decision as they could manage only 22 runs in the five-over period and Amla departed soon after.
He was out lbw to Tillakaratne Dilshan who came from round the wicket to trap him on the back foot. Amla reviewed the decision but he was unsuccessful. He had done the groundwork for the middle-order but they struggled to build on it.
De Villiers' lean run continued when he was caught behind trying to paddle sweep Dilshan. Faf du Plessis also did not offer a meaningful contribution. He was dropped on 12 by Mathews in his follow through and was stumped five overs later after lunging forward to Rangana Herath.
Mendis again foxed the less experienced players. David Miller was bowled by the legbreak and Farhaan Behardien clipped him to short leg. The two fell in three balls and South Africa's 118 for 1 after 22 overs became 173 for 6 in the 38th.
The fall of wickets forced Duminy to continue a quiet vigil and his strike rate remained in the 60s, until the last four overs, while he waited for a time to launch. In the end, he was only able to do a very small extent.
Malinga was mainly responsible for the hardship Duminy experienced. He picked at the tail with short balls and slower deliveries. He accounted for Robin Peterson and Rory Kleinveldt, who hit the innings' only six.
South Africa's addition of just 120 runs in the last 26.4 overs of their innings represented another batting struggle. But with 198 still the highest successful target chased at the venue, they will hope it is enough to make the final match a decider.
25 overs South Africa 127 for 3 (Duminy 36*, du Plessis 1*) v Sri Lanka
Hashim Amla's worth to South Africa's one-day unit was affirmed as the opener gave his team their first solid start of the series. Injuries kept Amla out of action or the first three matches but he recovered in time for this must-win encounter and was in full flow.
Amla batted with with timing Rolex would be envious of against a Sri Lanka attack which offered him too much width. While the rest of the South Africa line-up had been tempted, sometimes by average bowling earlier in the series, Amla was in a different class and used the opportunity to stamp his authority.
His opening partner, Quinton de Kock, had no such luck. Preferred ahead of Alviro Petersen and Colin Ingram, de Kock showed promise with two boundaries to the leg side off wayward deliveries but had no chance against Lasith Malinga.
De Kock faced only three balls from the mop-haired maestro and it was obvious Malinga was looking to york him. His first two deliveries were full tosses and then he got the toe-crusher right. De Kock could not get his bat down in time and was bowled for 8.
Malinga did not pose the same threat to Amla, against whom he tried the short ball. Amla pulled him with confidence - although he almost gloved one early on - and took three boundaries off his third over.
Sri Lanka were forced to introduce spin early in an attempt to stem the flow. Ajantha Mendis was brought on in the sixth over and Amla was immediately more watchful. He preferred to take on the likes of Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera, both of whom continued with a line too far outside the offstump.
With JP Duminy also settled in and batting with relative freedom, South Africa took the Powerplay after 15 overs but, against Sri Lanka's slew of spinners, they were unable to cash in. Just 22 runs came from the five-over period and the decision may be analysed as a poor one, considering how quickly Amla and Duminy were scoring already.
Despite the quiet passage, after 22 overs, their second-wicket stand had grown to 101, South Africa's most successful in the series so far and a perfect platform to launch from. But Amla was not able to do that himself. He was out lbw to Tillakaratne Dilshan who came from around the wicket to trap him on the back foot. Amla reviewed the decision but he was unsuccessful.
Still, Amla had done the groundwork for the middle-order, who were previously exposed and faltered. They will have no excuse for not capitalising this time, even though AB de Villiers was caught behind cheaply, irrespective of how much better Sri Lanka's bowlers operate in the second half of the innings.
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