Sri Lanka skipper Marvan Atapattu scored 97 not out to guide his team to a four-wicket victory and an unassailable 3-0 lead in their five-match one-day series against South Africa in Dambulla on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka, set a low 192-run target after a fine performance from their quintet of spinners, lost both openers cheaply and suffered a late-innings wobble before winning with 14 balls to spare.

Atapattu led from the front with his 140-ball innings on a difficult batting pitch, hitting eight boundaries and sharing important stands with Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Chaminda Vaas.

"Right throughout we have been playing well as a group," Atapattu told reporters. "We just continued with that and at the end of the day we won the series.

"It was a good innings, as we wanted someone to bat till the end, and it just happened to be me today. The others batted well around me.

"Under lights at Dambulla it always seams around a little bit and we wanted to see the new ball off, which we did to a certain extent. Thereafter it was all about building partnerships."

Sri Lanka were cruising to victory on 111 for three but the loss of Jayawardene (21), Tillakaratne Dilshan (3) and Upul Chandana (6) in quick succession left them on 145 for six.

Needing 46 from 54 balls, Atapattu released the pressure with a brace of boundaries off Lance Klusener and with South Africa dropping Vaas twice, Sri Lanka sneaked home.

Pace bowler Shaun Pollock became the seventh bowler in history to take 300 one-day wickets when he had opener Sanath Jayasuriya caught in the gully.

Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath and part-time off spinner Tillakaratne Dilshan starred with the ball for Sri Lanka, taking six for 53 between them as South Africa lost their last seven wickets for 47 runs.

Herath was chiefly responsible for South Africa's downfall, snapping up three crucial top order wickets to finish with three for 28, while Dilshan mopped up the tail and finished with three for 25.

The tourists, who have now lost eight successive matches, started brightly with a 44-run opening stand after winning the toss, but the innings was slowly throttled by the spinners on a bone-dry pitch.

Jacques Kallis top scored with 52 from 108 balls, hitting just three boundaries during a hard-working innings, before being caught behind in Herath's second spell.

Out-of-form opener Herschelle Gibbs, close to being dropped after a wretched run of form, rode his luck for an 82-ball 49 that included four fours and one six.

The 30-year-old right-hander was fortunate to survive a leg-before shout on nought, should have been run out on 28, and was then dropped in the deep on 43 by substitute fielder Farveez Maharoof.

Gibbs and Kallis were forced to work hard for their 41 from 94 balls after Graeme Smith had been caught at mid-off and pinch-hitter Klusener was bowled for a duck.

Gibbs' luck finally ran out in the 28th over when he was stumped off Herath, but Kallis consolidated with Jacques Rudolph (18), adding 53 in 77 balls.

South Africa were positioned at the 40-over mark on 142 for three, but the loss of Rudolph and Kallis in quick succession triggered a lower order slide.

"I thought we were about 10 runs short in the batting," Smith told reporters. "We thought 210 would have been a good target, although 191 was still defendable.

"There were a couple of missed chances and if we had taken them we could have one.

"Marvan had a very close leg before wicket shout early on and we needed things to go our way, which they haven't been but the boys have given it everything and it is disappointing."

Scoreboard.

South Africa innings
G.Smith c Jayasuriya b Vaas 16
H.Gibbs st Sangakkara b Herath 49
L.Klusener b Zoysa 0
J.Kallis c Sangakkara b Herath 52
J.Ruldolph lbw Dilshan 18
M.Boucher c Dilshan b Herath 7
S.Pollock c Sangakkara b Lokuarachchi 14
J.Duminy lbw Lokuarachchi 3
N.Boje st Sangakkara b Dilshan 10
A.Dawson c Herath b Dilshan 11
M.Ntini not out 0 Extras (lb-6 w-5) 11

Total (all out, 50 overs) 191

Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-50, 3-91, 4-144, 5-147, 6-164, 7-170, 8-170, 9-189, 10-191.

Bowling: Vaas 8-1-24-1, Zoysa 8-0-33-1 (w-4), Jayasuriya 7-1-26-0, Dilshan 7-0-25-3 (w-1), Chandana 7-0-26-0, Herath 8-1-28-3, Lokuarachchi 5-0-23-2

Sri Lanka innings
A.Gunawardene lbw Dawson 5
S.Jayasuriya c Gibbs b Pollock 11
M.Atapattu not out 97
K.Sangakkara st Sangakkara b Boje 14
M.Jayawardene b Duminy 21
T.Dilshan b Klusener 3
U.Chandana c Duminy b Klusener 6
C.Vaas not out 16

Extras (b-3 lb-2 nb-7 w-7) 19

Total (six wickets, 47.4 overs) 192

Did not bat: K.Lokuarachchi, R.Herath, N.Zoysa

Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-34, 3-65, 4-111, 5-126, 6-145

Bowling: Pollock 9-2-22-1 (4nb), Dawson 3-0-19-1 (1w), Ntini 4-0-15-0, Kallis 6-1-20-0 (1nb), Boje 9.4-0-47-1 (2w), Klusener 9-0-36-2 (2w, 2nb), Duminy 7-0-28-1 (2w)

Result: Sri Lanka won by four wickets

Next match: 28 August, Dambulla