South Africa vs Pakistan, 3rd ODI at Centurion, PAK in SA, Jan 25 2019 - Match Result

Right, that will be all that we have from this game. Frustrating end to what was shaping up be a nice, tight contest, but it is what it is. Rain forecast for Sunday as well, but let's hope it stays away for the large part. I'll be back then, as will Liam, and we hope you will too. Until then, goodbye and thank you for joining us today.

Presentation time.

"We had a good score, the batsmen played very well," says Sarfraz. "Before the (first) rain we bowled very well, but after the rain not so much. When we needed wickets, we couldn't get them. Hopefully we can work on these."

Reeza Hendricks is Man of the Match. "Quite happy to have contributed today and end up on the right side of the result," he says. "Out start was good, Quinny and Hash set us up nicely. We tried not to lose wickets once the DL came into play. Coming back after the break, we managed to hit a few boundaries and get going from there. As a batsman, you want to score a hundred every game, but it doesn't work like that. You could be moving well and seeing the ball well on certain days, and today was one of those days."

"Today's performance, I thought we were pretty ordinary, with the ball and on the field too, we were flat," says winning captain Faf. "I've said before, Lungi's injury has opened up more options with the bowlers. If Lungi was here, probably we wouldn't have as many fast bowlers here, but his absence has opened up an opportunity to test a few others. From a planning point of view, our journey over the last five-six months, we've been aggressive and got a blueprint of what we are capable of as a batting line-up. It's tricky with the rain around, myself and Reeza just tried to stick around. It was important to go ahead in the series. The biggest thing is to make sure we are mentally and physically ready for Sunday."

9.38pm Called off. South Africa win by 13 runs via the DL method. Pakistan will feel a little hard done by. They did a lot of things right. Their batsmen pulled their weight together brilliantly. They were sharp on the field. But a solid third-wicket partnership has put the game beyond them. And if you think of it, no first-innings score is safe, really, given the tendency of SA grounds to produce unbelievable chases. SA fluffed a lot of catches but come out unscathed. They take the lead for the first time in the series. Pakistan have to win both remaining games to win this series now.

Aizaz Akhtar: "So unfortunate for Pakistan, they have been at the wrong side of the luck, the whole tour so far !!"

ShehryarAhmed: "And the long wait of mine gives me no result (frustrated) "

9.35pm The umpires are out for an inspection. Still drizzling, however, and the covers are on. SA are 13 ahead of par

9.07pm Groundstaff off to bring in more covers. The end is near.

Nathan Barnes: "If it has to end this way, it's a very harsh result on Pakistan who have done little wrong today. But such are the vagaries of cricket. " -- It's nearing 1am here in India and eyes are shutting. That comment is too literary for me to process at this stage!

9pm The rain had stopped and the covers had been peeled off. Ten overs had been slashed from the chase and a restart at 9.15 had been set. But - oh, yeah, that "but" never sounds good - the rain has returned.

Hassan Mir: "Shocked that this discussion is still happening about Imam's selection criteria is being Inzamam's nephew. How can someone with an iota of knowledge about cricket say that ? Hasn't the guy scored second fastest 10000 runs and so many hundreds and fifties in 19 innings and many of them match winning ? I think people saying such things should get their head tested " -- All fair points, except in your excitement, you've slipped in an extra zero! Fastest to 10,000 would put him on Kohli-level. :)

Waqar Ahmad : "03:00 am in china, and tomorrow 8 o'clock i have to resume my lab work, what is the rain situation.should Sleep or not? " -- Sleep, Waqar, sleep, lest you burn the lab down tomorrow! Resumption highly unlikely.

8.51pm Still awaiting update from Centurion. Anyway, while that arrives, here's some looking ahead. Once the five ODIs are through, the two teams will clash in a T20I series. South Africa have already announced their line-up for that three-match series and it includes an uncapped 20-year old fast bowler.

SaeedJan: "Since 2012 U19 WC down under, 3 batsmen stood tall and all of the them in the same team; Babar, Sami & Imam. They all got selected and proved themselves. Unfortunately Sami Aslam was labelled as test specialist though had the ability to thump the white ball better than the red. So if Imam is in the team, he is on his own ability, talent and hard work rather than any relationship to Inzamam. He has some areas where he needs to work but he is a lot better than he came first. "

Usman: "As a Football fan, I want this match to end at 12:50 AM, so I would watch Arsenal vs Manchester. "

Hello again. Liam's hopped away to tee up the report, so here I am. Didn't seem like anything more than a drizzle, but we've started losing overs for sure, so if and when they resume, it will be a curtailed chase.

And while we wait for an update on a resumption, here's an ICYMI: Imam-ul-Haq sure did answer his naysayers with his century today. But that was the first installment of his response, as after the knock, during the mid-innings break, the bespectacled opening batsman, nephew of chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq, offered a verbal riposte. It was one that involved "thanking the haters".

Khalid : "Disappointed to see Amir wicketless, wonder where his career is heading to? Hopefully will get some scalps later in the innings"

Hamza Shah: "Imam guestures were obvious after century and successful 1000 runs as anyone can be frustrated by the situation. Imam heard same question from everyone everywhere about his selection stuff. If he gets going, he will make his uncle proud on his right selection as inzimam is also facing criticism. Inzimam now can show imam's number and close this chapter. As per my knowledge, Imam is a cricketer with sound and solid technique. His way is not that much aggressive doesnt mean he will not be famous.q"

Cheema: "i want to sleep now. can this match b postponed from here now till tomorrow?" -- Same here (the sleeping part)

Greeshmanth: "What an innings from Faf and Reeza Hendricks never easy chasing above 300 even when the pitch is batsmen friendly. Probably better than the first innings 100 partnership"

Faisal Jaan: "Just about when Pakistan brought the game into a classical T20I mode, the rain started to ruin their chances. Remember that Pakistani bowling is lethal in T20I chase situations, and that's why they're no. 1 side. "

Junaid: "I hope losing overs will increase the RRR... blessings in disguise for Pak." -- Those rarely end up being blessings for the team bowling. If anything, the ball is likely going to be harder to grip, and with lesser overs to bat and wickets in hand, the batting team can swing for the fences. These always favour the chasing team. Of course, doesn't mean it can't pan out differently here.

Zuhaib Manzoor : "Hendricks has played gem here, his shots were so classic , rain can not be an excuse to that. "

Nick: "If the champions trophy is anything to go by, Pakistan has a distinct advantage against South Africa in rainy conditions...." -- Fair point, although there is one major consideration to make: Champions Trophy was an anomaly (not taking anything away from Pakistan's performance, of course!).

humza khan: "Pak needed shadab to be at his best but he was unable to do so...... still think that if rain stops, Pak has a chance"

Hamza Shah: "Sarfraz should have think different while raining, Hafeez should have tried as he can control RR by bowling wicket to wicket with turn. "

Sohaib: "Hey everone ! Just calm down, dont just start badhing Pak bowlers, it was difficult for spiiners to grip, ball skidded on hence easier runs, n yes SA batted smartly too"

8.24pm And the covers come on once again. The rain started to come down much harder, and the umpires have called them off. The DLS par is 180, so South Africa are ahead.

Nomo: "SA played very smart here. With rain piling up and them well ahead, they safely accumulated 10 runs in 3 overs without any risk and happy to embrace the rain break now."

Waseem: "I would dare to say that Pakistan is in this position to loose the match only because of the senseless bowling after that rain break. They could have easily stopped the scoring flow by bowling more slow balls as batsmen were only looking to hit the balls. I wish rain stops and we don't have to face a D/L produced result."

Here's Akshay to guide you through what will, hopefully, be a short rain break

Qaiser Abbas: "SA came out with a plan after the break. Bring Back Imad... before its too late " Here he is!

The rain continues to fall, but not heavily enough to stop play

Qaiser Abbas: "Imad Wasim will be best at this situation " -- but would he be able to grip the ball?

Faf has a print-out of the DLS scores, and consults them at the end of the over. South Africa need 136 from 114 balls. The par score for the end of the next over is 169

Little Johhny: "Rain Rain Go Away !!! Little Reeza wants to play.Come another day"

The DLS par score is 159