Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya revealed his side were determined to beat South Africa despite booking their place in the Super Six stage long before the end of their match.
Sri Lanka booked their place in the Super Six
Both teams were awarded two points for a tie after heavy rain saw the match decided by the Duckworth-Lewis method five overs from the end.
But, due to the Sri Lankans' superior run rate, they had booked their place in the next stage of the tournament 10 overs earlier, regardless of the result.
And Jayasuriya said: "We knew that, after the 35th over, we were in the Super Six but
we wanted to win that game.
"Unfortunately the rain came."
Marvan Atapattu was the overwhelming star of the game, scoring a superbly crafted 124 off 129 balls and was ably supported by Aravinda de Silva.
The pair put on 152 for the fourth wicket, to leave South Africa chasing 269 for the win.
"We wanted Marvan and Aravinda to get some runs and Marvan especially," added Jayasuriya.
"He batted through the innings and got a hundred. I think Aravinda gave him full support and it was nice to see him getting runs.
"All in all, the boys played really well."