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CENTURION, South Africa, Thursday (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's opening batsman Marvan Atapattu has acknowledged Australia as the better side before the opening World Cup Super Six encounter on Friday but said his team mates were happy as underdogs.

"It's only a one-day game -- two teams are playing and one has to be on the losing side," he said.

"There is no doubt about it, they are a superior side, but the beauty of this game is that anything can happen.

"There is certainly less pressure when you're the underdogs and it's good to be in that situation."

Atapattu's splendid hundred against South Africa in Durban on Monday went a long way towards knocking the hosts out of the tournament during their rain-affected tied match.

Most attention was paid to the manner of South Africa's exit, as well as the Duckworth-Lewis scoring system, rather than Sri Lankans' qualification as the top team in Group B.

But Atapattu said the squad were content to get on with preparations away from the glare of publicity.

"It's always nicer to be left alone rather than be crowded," Atapattu told the only two reporters present at Sri Lankan practice at Centurion.

By contrast, at least 15 journalists and three television crews attended Australian practice earlier in the day.

"We saw that very clearly when we got to Durban. Suddenly there were a lot of pressmen around. In the other centres where we played there were very few of them."

Centurion's traditionally bouncy track is likely to favour Australia's potent pace attack rather than the Sri Lankan slow bowlers, who have frustrated the Australians in the past, notably in the semi-final of the Champions Trophy in Colombo in September last year and, more famously, in the 1996 World Cup final.

Atapattu, though, was not too bothered.

"The South Africans said when we played in Durban that it was the best ground to play Sri Lanka at if you wanted to beat them.

"There are no high hopes but all you can do is give a hundred percent.

Australia and Sri Lanka have a well-documented antagonistic relationship on the field, much of it stemming from off-spinner Muttian Muralitharan being no-balled by Australian umpires in the past.

Matters were not helped during a meeting in Australia earlier this year when Australian batsman Darren Lehmann made a racist remark within earshot of the Sri Lankan dressing room. 

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