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Hosts South Africa crashed out of the 2003 World Cup after their last Group B match against Sri Lanka on Monday was declared a tie when rain stopped play with the Proteas on 229/6 in 45 overs chasing 269 for a win.

As a result, Sri Lanka topped the group with 18 points, followed by Kenya and New Zealand with 16 each. Kenya, however, took second spot on account of having 'won' their fixture against the Kiwis, who had forfeited the game in Nairobi.

South Africa, who needed the full four points from their last league match to qualify, ended up with 14 points.

Only one game remains to be played in Group B, between the West Indies and Kenya. But this game will not make any difference to the top three teams in the group, except to push Kenya up to first spot if they win, because even a victory will give the Windies a total of 14 points, good enough for just fourth spot.

Earlier on Monday afternoon, Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya won the toss at Kingsmead, Durban, and elected to bat.

Jayasuriya failed with the bat, getting run out for just 16. But his opening partner Marvan Atapattu went on to score 124 and along with Aravinda de Silva (73) saw the islanders to a respectable score though only one other batsman (Hashan Tillekeratne) managed to get into double figures.

South Africa began their reply under lights in style, with Herschelle Gibbs and Graeme Smith going at almost a run a ball before Smith was dismissed by Aravinda de Silva off the first ball of his first spell in the 12th over.

Thereafter, the South Africans kept losing wickets at regular intervals, but they also kept abreast of the required run rate until Gibbs and Boeta Dippenaar were dismissed in the space of two deliveries by Muthiah Muralitharan (29th over) and Jayasuriya (30th over), respectively. 

The double strike put the brakes on the South Africans for a while, but Mark Boucher and captain Shaun Pollock again picked up the run rate until Pollock was declared run out on a very close decision.

Lance Klusener then joined Boucher and they took their team to 229/6, which was the par score under the Duckworth-Lewis system at the end of 45 overs, when the rain came down and just refused to stop. After waiting for the allotted extra half-hour, match referee Clive Lloyd declared the game a tie, leaving the South African team in despair and most of the 22,000 spectators in the stadium in tears.

The result also kept alive the World Cup jinx which has so far ensured that the host nation does not win the tournament.