Rain beats South Africa in World Cup, again

PTI, Oct 24, 2022, 6:18 PM IST

Image credit: ICC / T20WorldCup

Hobart: Rain beat South Africa, depriving them of a victory in a World Cup match one more time.

Set a target of 80 in nine overs by Zimbabwe, which was revised to 64 in seven overs after a brief rain interruption in their opening T20 World Cup match, South Africa were cruising at 51 for no loss in three overs, with opener Quinton de Kock going strong at an 18-ball unbeaten 47. Rain, then, turned out to be their real opponents on the day.

So, three decades after they were rained out of the 1992 ODI World Cup semifinals on readmission into international cricket, South Africa were again done in by the elements, this time in a group game though.

It’s been 30 years since the heartbreak in Sydney against England, but the rains continue to come in the way of the Proteas.

All-rounder Wesley Madhevere top-scored with an 18-ball unbeaten 35 and pulled Zimbabwe to 79 for 5 after a horror start in the rain-curtailed nine-over-a-side contest. South Africa were 24 for no loss when the heavens opened up first, and soon after play resumed following the brief interruption, de Kock carted Richard Ngarava for four boundaries, including three on the trot.

But the match was called off after it started to rain again.

Earlier, having got a life on 11, Madhevere capitalised on that to prop up Zimbabwe after they were tottering at 19 for four in the fourth over.

The game was shortened after rain delayed the start by more than two hours at Bellerive Oval, which was drowned in water before the groundsmen got it match ready. The powerplay was reduced to three overs per side with four bowlers allowed to bowl a maximum of two overs each.

In a surprising move, Zimbabwe skipper Craig Ervine opted to bat first despite the threat of rain looming over and the possibility of the Duckworth/Lewis method coming into the picture. The decision backfired as they lost the top four batters with hardly anything on the board.

Lungi Ngidi (2/20) was the wrecker-in-chief early on, having taken the wickets of Regis Chakabva (8) and Sikandar Raza for a second-ball duck. Ngidi had Chakabva caught behind right after the opener had hit the pacer for a six over deep midwicket. This was after Wayne Parnell gave the Proteas their first breakthrough by removing Ervine (2).

Possessing a potent four-pronged pace attack, the South Africans ran through their overs quickly, even as Zimbabwe top-order struggled to get its act right.

Promoted to number three, Sean Williams was run out after a horrendous call by Wesley Madhevere, as David Miller’s throw at the striker’s end found the batter short by a few yards in the fourth over.

Zimbabwe got two boundaries in the next over to somewhat break the shackles.

Meanwhile, Ngidi dropped Madhevere in left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj’s first and only over of the game. The batter was on 11, and he made full use of the life by smashing Kagiso Rabada for 17 runs in the innings’ eighth over, including hitting the pacer for a six and two fours.