Lucknow, Mar 12 (IANS): South Africa beat India in the 3rd ODI by six runs via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method here on Friday. Chasing India's 248/5, opener Lizelle Lee's unbeaten 132 off 131 balls had taken South Africa to 223/4 in 46.3 overs before the match was called off due to rain.

Lee is the first South African female cricketer to score three centuries in ODI cricket and her 132 not out is the fourth highest score in a chasing effort in the format.

The visitors were cruising towards the target when rain interrupted play during the 47th over. They needed 28 runs to win off 24 balls and were six runs ahead of the DLS par score at the time the players left the field.

Jhulan Goswami took two wickets while Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Deepti Sharma took one wicket each.

South Africa have thus taken a 2-1 lead in the five-match ODI series which is being played at Lucknow's Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium. The fourth match will now be played on Sunday.

Earlier, Punam Raut's second consecutive half century helped India reach 248/5. Punam scored 77 and struck up important partnerships with captain Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur.

Brief scores: India 248/5 in 50 overs (Punam Raut 77, Harmanpreet Kaur 36; Shabnim Ismail 2/46) lost to South Africa 223/4 in 46.3 overs (Lizelle Lee 132 not out, Mignon du Preez 37; Jhulan Goswami 2/20) by six runs (DLS method)