Centurion, Sept. 22: Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sri Lanka could well have put the fate of the 2009 Champions Trophy Group B opener against South Africa beyond dispute, but two wickets in the space of seven balls at a crucial stage held up their charge for a while at the Centurion here on Tuesday.

Recovering well on the back of Dilshan’s 92-ball 106, however, they posted 319/8 against the hosts, giving their opponents a testing start to their campaign in this event where South Africa have pinned a great deal of hopes on in ending their decade-long title drought.

Graeme Smith’s decision to bowl first on a firm Centurion pitch looked to have backfired when Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara put on 158 for the second wicket after Sanath Jayasuriya had fallen for 10 in the third over.

Dilshan continued his recent run of imperious form to notch up his third one-day international hundred and the two scored so briskly that at no time during their association between the third and 28th overs did the run rate drop below the six per over mark. Dilshan’s sixth international hundred of this year alone — four in Test matches against Bangladesh (2), Pakistan and New Zealand — set things up nicely for the Lankans.

He drove with power, scooped and swept with deft timing and even though he slowed up in the nineties, it was still at a strike rate of over a hundred that marked his stay at the crease.

Sixteen boundaries and a sweetly-timed six flowed off Dilshan’s bat even as at the other end Sangakkara (54, 74b, 5x4) kept unobtrusive company, nudging, flicking and occasionally hammering the ball to the ropes.

Both, though, fell to tame dismissals.

Sangakkara was caught and bowled in J.P. Duminy’s first over and may well have earned an invitation from the match referee for bat abuse, such was his rage at his own indiscretion. Seven balls later, Dilshan followed, his upper-cut against the pacy Dale Steyn gobbled up short of the third man fence by Albie Morkel.

Smith pushed spinners Johan Botha and Roelf van der Merwe into action quickly enough and the latter did his bit by bowling 10 economical overs.

While van der Merwe remained wicketless, he gave away just 42 runs, which in the context of Sri Lanka’s eventual 300-plus tally, was a tidy job indeed.

Mahela Jayawardena and Thilan Samaraweera then picked up where the second wicket pair had left off in adding a brisk 116 for the fourth wicket that may well have put the match beyond the hosts, though dew does tend to be a factor at the Centurion for the side bowling second.

Jayawardena was not his usual silky self but effectively shovelled and placed the ball neatly in compiling his 77 (61b, 8x4, 1x6) and a late charge by the lower middle order ensured that South Africa would have a job on their hands.

Steyn was the pick of the bowlers with his 3/47 from nine hostile overs while pace partner Wayne Parnell cashed in on some wild hitting by the late order to have 3/79.

Scores: Sri Lanka 319/8 (Dilshan 106, Sangakkara 54, Jayawardena 77, Samaraweera 37; Steyn 3/47, Parnell 3/79, Duminy 1/11) vs South Africa