DAMBULLA, Aug 27: South Africa will seek to capitalise on a depleted Sri Lanka team as they bid to end an eight-match losing run on Saturday.

Sri Lanka are poised to rest skipper Marvan Atapattu and seamer Chaminda Vaas for the fourth game of the one-day series after taking an unassailable 3-0 lead on Wednesday.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith believes the move could backfire on the hosts and allow his struggling team to drag themselves out of a rut. "They (Sri Lanka) have had a long run and have won the series, but it only takes one or two games to lose the momentum you have built up," Smith told reporters.

"It is important for us to go out there and get a win under our belt no matter what there team they play to get our confidence up for the ICC Champions Trophy," he added. "We have been making silly mistakes at crucial times and a lot of that is because we lack confidence in getting it right under pressure.

"We know how quickly we can turn it around and it has got to start tomorrow." The tourists are set to change their strategy, halting an experiment with pinch-hitters in the top order, and possibly including Robin Peterson as a second specialist spinner.

"There has been talk of us going into the game with two spinners, but we will have a look at the pitch tomorrow," said Smith. Sri Lanka have already decided to rest Atapattu, who scored 97 not out in the third game, and Vaas to give their reserve players match practice before next month's Champions Trophy.

Lasith Malinga, who surprised South Africa during the Test series with his unusual round-arm action, is likely to play. Saman Jayantha will replace Atapattu, probably slipping straight into the skipper's number three position. -AFP