CENTURION: Imam-ul-Haq hit a century — and delivered a message to his critics — but could not prevent South Africa from winning the rain-hit third one-day international here on Friday.

Imam’s 101 spurred Pakistan to an imposing 317 for six but South Africa won by 13 runs according to the Duckworth/Lewis/Stern method after rain twice stopped play during their reply.

When the second interruption brought the match to an end, South Africa were 187 for two after 33 overs, ahead of the DLS par of 174, with Reeza Hendricks and captain Faf du Plessis unbeaten on 83 and 40 respectively.

Imam had strong words for what he said were his critics after making his fifth century in his 19th one-day international.

As he took the single which took him to his hundred, he pointed to his mouth as his lips moved vigorously, then put a finger to his lips. He was out two balls later, caught in the deep.

The left-handed Imam shared partnerships of 132 for the second wicket with Babar Azam (69) and 84 for the third wicket with Mohammad Hafeez (52).

His innings enabled Imam to reach 1,000 runs in 19 innings, second fastest in all one-day internationals only to his teammate, Fakhar Zaman, who achieved the feat in 18 innings.

Imad Wasim finished the innings with a flourish with an unbeaten 43 off 23 balls, putting on 52 off 31 balls with Shoaib Malik (31) for the fifth wicket.

South Africa had a poor day in the field, dropping five catches, including lives to all five of the Pakistan top scorers.

Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla gave South Africa a brisk start, putting on 53 for the first wicket. With a thunderstorm approaching, both were dismissed before the first rain delay at 88 for two after 16.5 overs.

Play resumed after a 55-minute break with the target remaining 318 in 50 overs.

Man of the match Hendricks and Du Plessis batted aggressively while the Pakistan bowlers and fielders struggled in damp conditions. More rain started to fall and eventually caused the match to be abandoned.

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2019