Close Sri Lanka 323 and 180 for 3 (Jayawardene 40*, Tillekeratne 0*) lead South Africa 448 (Pollock 99*, Gibbs 92, Kallis 84, Boucher 63) by 55 runs
Scorecard

Menacing clouds, followed by a typical highveld deluge, brought an early end to the fourth day's play at Centurion. But not before some rich strokeplay from Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene had inched Sri Lanka into a promising lead of 55, with seven wickets standing. Sangakkara couldn't quite see it through to the close – moments before the rains came, he was caught down the leg side off Makhaya Ntini for a superb 89. But with so much at stake, tempers were beginning to fray, and a feisty exchange between Jayawardene and Shaun Pollock had enlivened the day.

Jayawardene came to the crease when Marvan Atapattu was caught behind off a Jacques Kallis lifter for 22 (60 for 2), and he was still there at the close, on 40 not out, having added 119 for the third wicket. With Muttiah Muralitharan waiting to exploit a crumbling fifth-day wicket, his partnership with Sangakkara might yet cause South Africa a problem or two on the final afternoon.

As ever, Jayawardene was brutal square of the wicket, but it was a slightly fortuitous top-edged four off Pollock that prompted a bout of handbags. Pollock aimed a playful/irritating pat on Jayawardene's helmet as he arrived at the non-striker's end, and the umpires had to intervene as Jayawardene reacted angrily.

Clearly rattled, Jayawardene then survived a ludicrous run-out chance, as he walked a casual single from a tuck off his hips. Mark Boucher scampered round from behind the stumps, and his shy missed by a matter of inches. Pollock was quickly on hand to offer a sarcastic round of applause.

In mitigation, Pollock had every right to be in a foul mood, as earlier in the day he had become the fourth batsman in Test history to be left stranded on 99 not out. He would have felt like braining Ntini, who produced a shot of jaw-dropping idiocy to deny his captain a third Test century.

Ntini had batted sensibly during a last-wicket partnership of 40, but then, after Pollock took a single off the first ball of Chaminda Vaas's 33rd over, Ntini had a brainstorm. The third ball was pitched up, and Ntini heaved it straight to mid-off. Pollock looked to the heavens - and with good reason. He had played beautifully, reverse-sweeping Murali for four to move into the 90s this morning before hoicking him over square-leg for a mighty six, and fully deserved a century.

Pollock and Ntini took out their frustration on the Sri Lankan openers in a searching new-ball spell. Ntini clanged Atapattu flush on the top of the helmet with a vicious bouncer and was unlucky not to trap him lbw shortly after. If the umpire Daryl Harper possibly erred then, he certainly did in Ntini's next over, when Jehan Mubarak was given out caught behind for 15 (23 for 1).

The ball was a snorter, angling away from the left-hander from around the wicket, but there was clear daylight between Mubarak's thrusting bat and the ball. As the bat clipped his pad, Ntini yelped furiously, but it was telling that Boucher hardly bothered to appeal. Harper, however, raised his finger, and there were shades of a similar decision given against Andrew Flintoff at Auckland earlier this year. By any standards, especially those of an apparently elite panel, it was a shocker.

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