Sri Lanka 156 for 6 (Athapaththu 73, Samarawickrama 54, de Klerk 2-25) beat South Africa 155 for 6 (Wolvaardt 56, de Klerk 44, Kumari 3-24) by four wickets
Chasing 156 for victory, Sri Lanka lost Vishmi Gunaratne in the second over for 1, but then had a 97-run stand between Athapaththu and Samarawickrama, which took them to 102, leaving them with just 54 to get from 7.2 overs.
Athapaththu took the lead in the run-scoring. She hit 73 in 46 balls, with seven fours and five sixes, at East London’s Buffalo Park, to put Sri Lanka in the ascendance. Samarawickrama was an able ally, as she scored 54 not out in 43 balls, helping Sri Lanka get in front alongside Athapaththu and then completing the job after a bit of a rush of wickets, with five balls to spare.
Up top, Tazmin Brits was the quiet partner in a 37-run stand with Wolvaardt, scoring just 7. The trend continued, with Wolvaardt dominating small stands with Marizanne Kapp and Sune Luus, before Wolvaardt and Bosch added 32 in just under five overs. Bosch made 27 in 21 balls with three fours and a six off Athapaththu.
Kumari, who had earlier sent back Brits, added Eliz-mari Marx’s wicket to her bag to finish with 3 for 24. Inoshi Priyadharshani (1 for 18) and Kavisha Dilhari (1 for 22) were impressive with the ball too.
The Sri Lankans will next play a 50 overs-a-side tour game against a South African XI on Saturday before the ODIs start on April 9.