The problem was, it was his eighth over; if it came to a situation where Lanka had to winkle the tail out in a hurry, Murali would need to bowl. So Jayawardene went back to Malinga, hoping for the sort of devastating late reverse at pace he gets with the older ball.

He did manage the odd yorker, but a well set Kallis, and an unsure but determined Kemp, kept him at bay and whittled away with singles; it didn't help too that Malinga's radar remained on the blink, with the odd scorcher going down leg, and on at least one occasion being helped to the fence.

The last ball of the 38th over saw the end of Kemp. Jayasuriya sent down an armer outside off; Kemp lunged a long way forward, was beaten, and Sangakkara produced a smart stumping, whipping the bails off before the toe could be grounded (5/16; 182/5).

Malinga should have struck another blow, with the very next ball, the first of the 39th. A reverse swinging delivery on length around off and middle saw Kallis pushing; the late swing meant the push came off the thick inside edge and not the middle. The ball scooted through low to the right of Malinga, who bent down, got both hands to it, but let it slip through. Two wickets in two balls could have triggered a bit of panic in the Proteas camp, but the let off allowed the side to breathe easy again.

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