Rain Washes Out Second Women's T20I Between India and South Africa

Persistent rain washed out the second women's T20 International between India and South Africa in Chennai on July 8, leaving the visitors with a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. India must now win the third and final T20I on Tuesday (July 9) to avoid a rare home series defeat.

The match began 15 minutes late due to rain, which continued to interrupt play throughout South Africa's innings. However, the heavens opened during the innings break, forcing both teams to remain in their dressing rooms.

As the overs began to dwindle, the nagging drizzle made it impossible to meet the cut-off time for a five-over-a-side contest, prompting the umpires to abandon the match.

Earlier, Tazmin Brits played a measured half-century as South Africa overcame some mid-innings jitters to post a challenging 177 for six after being asked to bat first. Brits (52 off 39 balls) received solid support from Anneke Bosch (40 off 32 balls), helping the Proteas reach their second-highest T20I total against India.

Openers Laura Wolvaardt (22 off 12 balls) and Brits put on a 42-run opening stand before pacer Pooja Vastrakar dismissed Wolvaardt in the fifth over. Brits continued her brisk scoring alongside Marizanne Kapp (20 off 14 balls), as they accumulated 66 runs during the powerplay.

Brits reached her 11th T20I half-century, but her partnership with Bosch ended at 38 when Deepti Sharma dismissed her in the 14th over, with the score reading 113 for three.

The Indian bowlers, particularly the spinners, kept the South Africans in check, forcing them to use sweep shots frequently. Vastrakar bowled the final over and dismissed Nadine de Klerk (14 off 9 balls), but Jemimah Rodrigues dropped Annerie Dercksen (12 not out), who punished the Indians with three fours in a row off the last three balls of the innings.

Vastrakar and Deepti claimed two wickets each for the hosts.

Tags: #Cricket, #WomensCricket, #India, #SouthAfrica, #T20I