Facts and figures relating to the World Cup semifinal between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on Tuesday.
Head-to-head record: New Zealand lead 35-33 (Tied: 1; NR: 4) In the World Cups: Sri Lanka lead 5-3 In the sub-continent, Sri Lanka lead 16-5 (NR: 2).
Results in last five head-to-head ODIs 8 Sept 2009 Sri Lanka won by 97 runs in Colombo 27 Sept 2009 New Zealand won by 38 runs in Johannesburg 13 Aug 2009 Sri Lanka won by three wickets in Dambulla 19 Aug 2009 No result in Dambulla 18 March 2011 Sri Lanka won by 112 runs in Mumbai.
* New Zealand have not beaten Sri Lanka in their last four World Cup encounters. Their last win in the tournament over the co-hosts was in 1992.
* Sri Lanka (WWW, NR, WLW) have romped into the semifinals. Besides a slip against Pakistan when they lost by 11 runs and a washout against Australia, they have easily won their other games, including a 10-wicket quarterfinal thrashing of England.
* Tillakaratne Dilshan seems to be Sri Lanka's talisman. He is the second highest scorer in the tournament with 394 runs at a strike rate of 96.33. He has so far scored two centuries, one fifty and taken six wickets at an economy of 3.66.
* With 363 runs apiece, Kumar Sangakkara and Upul Tharanga are also flying high. They have a formidable spin and pace duo in Muttiah Muralitharan (13 wickets at an economy of 3.96) and Lasith Malinga (eight wickets) along with Ajantha Mendis' miserly bowling at an economy of 3.01.
* The only chink in their armour potentially is the untested middle order. The only time they were tested was against Pakistan and they came unstuck.
* New Zealand (WLWWWLW) have vanquished the lesser teams such as Kenya, Zimbabwe and Canada but lost to Australia and Sri Lanka. However, their 110-run win over Pakistan signalled the return to form of their key players, Ross Taylor and Jacob Oram.
* An upset win against South Africa by 49 runs in the quarterfinals is likely to provide an edge to the mental fortitude of New Zealand.
* Tim Southee (15 wickets) is one of the leading pacemen in this tournament, ably supported by Oram (12 wickets) and the very tenacious Nathan McCullum (eight wickets).
* Taylor's wicket (288 runs with 14 sixes) and Brendon McCullum (243 runs) at the top of the order will be key to New Zealand's chances.
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