Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal hit unbeaten half-centuries as Sri Lanka A finished the day at 142 for 1 after South Africa A had been dismissed for 345.
Coming together after Rusty Theron had dismissed Lahiru Thirimanne for four, Karunaratne and Chandimal shared an unbroken 112-run stand for the second wicket. While Karunaratne hit ten fours in his 78 off 148 deliveries, Chandimal hit seven fours and a six in making 58 off 123.
The strong start must have pleased Sri Lanka after they allowed South Africa to add 110 runs to their overnight score of 235 for 6. Dean Elgar, resuming on 118, shared two useful sixty-plus stands, with Vernon Philander and Theron, to take South Africa close to 350. Elgar was the last man out after scoring a marathon 174 off 384 deliveries, hitting 12 fours. Janaka Gunaratne was the most successful bowler for Sri Lanka, finishing with 3 for 60.