With Jacques Kallis pacing his innings to perfection and Jonty Rhodes scampering hither and thither, South Africa made tracking down Sri Lanka's best score of the series seem pretty much routine as they won the third Standard Bank one-day international at Boland Park by eight wickets on Tuesday.

Jacques Kallis Photo CricInfo

It was never quite as easy as that and it was by no means South Africa's most polished performance in the field, but with Kallis and Rhodes apparently nerveless, Sri Lanka were again unable to check the onward surge of a supremely confident home team.

Sri Lanka's tour is not over, not just yet. By winning the next three one-dayers and the third Test they could square both series. But it takes some leap of faith to believe that Sanath Jayasuriya's tourists still have something in reserve to draw upon.

For once the Sri Lankan top three fired. Romesh Kaluwitharana made 83 and Jayasuriya 66 as they put on 110 for the first wicket and with Marvan Atapattu adding an unbeaten 51, they managed to post 247 for four. It seemed a decent enough total, if 10 or 15 short of what they really needed, but South Africa still had to get them.

There were a number of uncharacteristic lapses in the field from the South Africans, six or seven dropped catches depending on the harshness of the judge. The worst of them came from Alan Dawson, who missed Kaluwitharana at long on, and Makhaya Ntini, who dropped Mahela Jayawardene coming in from the cover boundary.

And Herschelle Gibbs managed to get himself trapped leg before off the second ball he faced to give the Sri Lankans an early lift in the field. Gibbs was also out second ball in the Newlands Test match and the debate about his selection has shifted from the morality of it all to if and when he's going to get going again.

Gibbs displaced Boeta Dippenaar at Newlands, but a hand injury to Gary Kirsten opened the door for the Free Stater on Tuesday, and a polished 65 has ensured that Dippenaar has still a strong claim to a more permanent place.

As well as Dippenaar played, though, Kallis and Rhodes were quite outstanding. Kallis reached his 100 with what proved to be the last ball of the game – a pull through midwicket to take South Africa to victory.

It was just as well for him that he reached the boundary. Rhodes was also still around, unbeaten on 75 off 59 balls and it seems certain that had Kallis not made his century, the man of the match award would have gone to the Natalian.

They each played their hands quite beautifully, Kallis all controlled power and assurance while Rhodes dashed up and down, improvising at each and every turn. Rhodes produced the shot of the match, a reverse sweep off Muttiah Muralitharan which dropped just inches inside the point boundary rope.

It was a stroke that said a fair deal about South Africa's view of Muralitharan. They believe he will always take wickets in Test matches, but they do not fear him and the hold he had over them just six months ago on his home soil has been broken.

Despite losing by eight wickets, Sri Lanka played well on Tuesday. Their batsmen produced, they hustled on the field, but on a good batting wicket they just didn't have anyone to take wickets at important stages and the South Africans were able to build match-winning partnerships.

It ended with seven balls to spare, but South Africa's victory suggested that the home team always had a bit in hand. Can Sri Lanka now win three ODIs and a Test match straight off? You wouldn't want to put your house on it.

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