South Africa seize advantage early

South Africa A 187 for 1 (Puttick 93*, Petersen 51*) lead Sri Lanka A 180 (de Villiers 5-36, Tsotsobe 3-54) by seven runs
Scorecard

Outbatted in the first four-day game in Potchefstroom, South Africa A came back strongly in the second, dismissing Sri Lanka A for 180, and then taking a seven-run lead with nine wickets left in their first innings.

Sri Lanka's woes began as soon as they were put in. Tharanga Paranavitana, the top scorer in the first game, was out with his team yet to score a run. Upul Tharanga and Gihan Rupasinghe then steadied the innings with a 64-run stand, before Rupasinghe became the first of five wickets for medium-pacer CJ de Villiers.

de Villiers' five wickets came in the span of five overs, as Sri Lanka slumped from 64 for 1 to 136 for 9. The visiting batsmen failed to build on starts: Tharanga fell for 32, Rupasinghe 36, Angelo Mathews 26, and captain Thilina Kandamby 21. de Villiers took 5 for 36 in his eight overs, while Lonwabo Tsotsobe took 3 for 54.

Sri Lanka's tailenders, though, frustrated the hosts, with No. 11 Isuru Udana scoring a brisk 33 off 21 balls. Johann Louw took the final two wickets as Sri Lanka finished on 180.

South Africa's openers - Heino Kuhn and Andrew Puttick - had scored centuries in the previous game, and they continued their form in Kimberley, adding 85 in 22.1 overs. Sujeewa de Silva trapped Kuhn leg-before for 35, but Alviro Petersen and Puttick put their side in the lead.

Malinga Bandara bowled economically, conceding just 13 from his nine overs, yet Sri Lanka failed to take more wickets. Puttick was on 93 at stumps, while Petersen pushed to 51 as South Africa reached 187 for 1.