Chasing the target, Lizelle Lee smashed a 45-ball 70 studded with 11 fours and a six, while Laura Wolvaardt slammed an unbeaten 39-ball 53 as South Africa romped home in the last ball.
Harleen Deol's (52) confident maiden international fifty was the only silver lining for an otherwise lacklustre display by the Indians who posted a modest 130 for 6 after being invited to bat.
Mithali Raj played a captain's knock by hitting a well-crafted 79 not out but it was only enough to take India to 188 all out.
Punam, who struck an impressive hundred in a losing cause, had scores of 62 and 77 in the first two games respectively.
The visitors chased down a target of 267 with seven wickets to spare, to claim an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
Asked to bat, Raut continued her rich vein of form with an unbeaten 104 while Harmanpreet smashed a blazing half-century to power India to a 266 for four in 50 overs.
Blown away in the series-opener, India had bounced back in style in the second ODI but Mithali Raj's side couldn't go the distance in the third game, going down narrowly by six runs via D/L method.
The 38-year-old veteran ODI skipper, who has been playing in top-flight for more than two decades, is the first Indian woman cricketer and second internationally to reach the milestone.
Put in to bat, Punam Raut starred for the home team with a 108-ball 77, which was studded with 11 boundaries. India scored 248 for five in the allotted 50 overs.
Veteran Jhulan Goswami's four-wicket haul was beautifully complemented by Smriti Mandhana's sparkling 80 not out as Indian women outplayed South Africa by nine wickets in the second ODI to level the five-match series 1-1
Mandhana's unbeaten 80 helped India in securing a series-levelling win against South Africa Women in the three-match ODI series in Lucknow.
Veteran pacer Jhulan (4/42) was the pick of the bowlers for India, while Rajeshwari Gayakwad returned with figures of 3 for 37.
Shafali is part of the T20 squad that will play three games against South Africa.
However, both BCCI and Cricket South Africa are yet to announce the series though the Indian players have been intimated about it.
A senior BCCI official confirmed that the women's team could tour the island nation right after the WIPL (Challengers series) but a big bone of contention could be the 14-day mandatory quarantine in Sri Lanka.
Four matches are likely to be held in Sharjah or Dubai considering that Abu Dhabi has separate quarantine rules.
Twice India came close to winning the World Cup but the team could not lift the coveted trophy. Under Mithali's leadership, India reached the final of the 2017 World Cup final but lost to hosts England.
Women's cricket was governed by the Women's Cricket Association of India until 2006 when it was merged with the BCCI.
The BCCI's decision to not send the team for the tri-series involving England and South Africa amid the COVID-19 pandemic has raised a few eyebrows at a time when it is preparing to host the IPL in the UAE
The Indian women's cricket team's proposed tour, the only major assignment before next year's ICC World Cup, was called off earlier this week due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Top News
Latest News
