Mahela Jayawardene had a quite brilliant series with the bat

The Sri Lanka skipper's 123 on the final day at the Sara Oval was a match-winning performance but he said the victory was a team effort.

And he said: "When you work hard, you are bound to get results and that's what we have achieved.

"It will take me some time to recover from this match. It was one of the most exciting Tests I have played in."

Sri Lanka, set 352 to win, lost three wickets for nine runs to slip to 350-9 after lunch on the fifth day before last man Lasith Malinga drove Nicky Boje for the winning run.

I must confess I was a bit nervous when Murali got out Mahela Jayawardene

The hosts, who had been just 19 away from victory at lunch with four wickets in hand, were kept in the field for an hour after the resumption by the South Africans.

With 11 needed, Jayawardene stepped out to Boje and edged a catch to Herschelle Gibbs in the slips. Seamer Andrew Hall dismissed Chaminda Vaas and then clean-bowled Muttiah Muralitharan.

Maharoof levelled the score with a single off Boje before Malinga drove the next ball to the vacant mid-on region to seal a close win.

"I must confess I was a bit nervous when Murali got out, but both Maharoof and Malinga showed character and hung in there to get us to victory," the captain said.

"I had told the boys before the Test that South Africa would come back hard at us and they proved us right. But we stood up to the task well and deserved to win both matches."

South Africa's stand-in captain Ashwell Prince said he was proud of his team for fighting to the end.

If only some catches had been taken, the result would have gone in our favour Ashwell Prince

"We never gave up and we knew that it would still be a match worth fighting for once we got Jayawardene out," said Prince, the first black cricketer to lead his country.

"Except for the first innings of the first Test when we got out for 169 we have matched the opposition in both batting and bowling.

"If only some catches had been taken, the result would have gone in our favour."

Prince said the absence of the injured duo of captain Graeme Smith and leading all-rounder Jacques Kallis for the series left his team depleted.

Then pace spearhead Makhaya Ntini missed the final day's play due to a hamstring injury.

"Makhaya always makes a difference. It was a big blow not to have him when we needed him most," said Prince.