Sri Lanka A start with a loss

Sri Lanka A began their tour of South Africa on a sour note, losing to Pretoria University, the Club Championship winners, by five wickets at Willowmoore Park in Benoni.

After winning the toss, Sri Lanka chose to bat and made a reasonable start until Avishka Gunawardena was trapped lbw by Tiens Lange for 17 (42 for 1). Jehan Mubarak and Michael Vandort then flayed the attack, adding a second-wicket stand of 192 before Vandort was dismissed for 108. Mubarak then followed him shortly to the pavilion for 104 as Sri Lanka ended on a healthy 276 for 4.

Pretoria, not fazed by the daunting task ahead of them, opened with Jacques Rudolph and AB de Villiers, who put on 67 for the opening wicket before Rudolph departed for 24. De Villiers made 67.

But the big partnership came between Kruger van Wyk, the captain, and Hein Malan. They added 121 and took Pretoria to a memorable win. Malan was out for 81 and Van Wyk finished unbeaten on 56 as they reached their target with eight balls to spare.

Sri Lanka face South Africa A in a day-night match at The Potchefstroom Oval on Friday.