Rain Plays Spoilsport As 5th T20I Between India-South Africa Abandoned

India-South Africa share the series 2-2 after the fifth T20I got called off.

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The fifth T20I between India and South Africa got abandoned due to rain and the two sides shared the series 2-2 in what turned out to be an anti-climax of the much-anticipated series-decider at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. 

Only 3.3 overs were possible in the entire match where India were asked to bat first by the stand-in South African captain, Keshav Maharaj. India scored 28 runs and lost two wickets, both to Lungi Ngidi before rain stopped play for the second time and the last time during the game. 

Rishabh Pant had lost the toss for the fifth straight time and when the match was just about to start, the first spell of rain came which delayed the start by 50 minutes, and one over of the match was cut to make it a 19-over-per-side game. 

The second spell was more intense and the rain continued for a long time without slowing down. The umpires did try to give a chance to make it at least five overs per side match by taking a cutoff time of 10:02 PM IST but looking at the conditions, the game was simply not possible. 

It was a highly competitive series that began on 9th June in the national capital, Delhi where India lost the first T20I and followed it with another loss in the 2nd T20I at Cuttack. With 0-2 down, India made a comeback at Vishakhapatnam and Rajkot to level the series 2-2.