South Africa and Sri Lanka have met 44 times in ODIs, and the honours are even, with both winning 21 times. There is nothing to separate them at neutral venues either, with eight wins each. Since the last World Cup they have met ten times, and while Sri Lanka have won seven, five of those victories were at home. In three World Cup clashes, it's one win apiece and a tie in 2003.
Jacques Kallis has scored the highest number of runs in ODIs between South Africa and Sri Lanka, with 1193 at an average of 49.70. Marvan Atapattu, with 1164 runs at 38.79, and Sanath Jayasuriya - 1030 at 24.52 - are the two others who have scored more than 1000 runs. (Click here for the complete list.) Among the other batsmen, Kumar Sangakkara has enjoyed facing the South African attack - his 980 runs have come at a healthy average of 40.83.
Shaun Pollock has taken 51 wickets in 34 matches against Sri Lanka, averaging 23 at 3.77 per over. Muttiah Muralitharan has collected 46 wickets in 30 matches at 23.13.
The new-ball bowlers from both teams have had success against the opposition top-order batsmen. Chaminda Vaas has dismissed Herschelle Gibbs nine times and Graeme Smith five, while Pollock has nailed Jayasuriya on eight occasions. The tables below list the performances of the leading seamers from either team against the opposition batsmen since 2002.
Chaminda Vaas's record against the South African batsmen since 2002
Batsman
Innings
Runs
Dismissals
Average
Balls
Strike Rate
Graeme Smith
13
94
5
18.8
189
50
Jacques Kallis
9
66
0
-
93
71
Herschelle Gibbs
15
91
5
18.2
159
58
Mark Boucher
8
54
1
54
62
88
Shaun Pollock's record against the Sri Lankan batsmen since 2002
Batsman
Innings
Runs
Dismissals
Average
Balls
Strike Rate
Sanath Jayasuriya
17
127
4
31.75
201
64
Marvan Atapattu
15
156
1
156
233
67
Kumar Sangakkara
15
97
3
32.33
151
65
Mahela Jayawardene
9
37
1
37
61
61
Makhaya Ntini's record against the Sri Lankan batsmen since 2002
Batsman
Innings
Runs
Dismissals
Average
Balls
Strike Rate
Sanath Jayasuriya
8
83
2
41.5
99
84
Marvan Atapattu
8
98
3
32.67
144
3
Kumar Sangakkara
10
77
0
-
98
79
Mahela Jayawardene
9
22
1
22
44
50
For South Africa to win, they'll have to overcome the threat posed by the Sri Lankan spinners. Muralitharan will obviously be a danger, but they might also have to look out for Malinga Bandara, who, if the conditions support him, could be a better option than one of the fast bowlers. In the three innings in which he has bowled against South Africa, he has taken nine wickets at 12.11 at 3.98 per over.