T20 World Cup: South Africa and Zimbabwe share points as rain plays spoilsport

A two hour plus delay meant that the game was shortened to nine overs a side. Even though Zimbabwe managed to bat the nine overs, a further two overs were deducted owing to another round of showers during South Africa’s chase of 80.

Quinton de Kock in action against Zimbabwe. (Twitter/T20 World Cup)

Playing in their first Super 12 game at the 2022 T20 World Cup, South Africa and Zimbabwe shared points after the match was called off due to rain. The Group 2 match at the Bellerive Oval got off to a late start as drizzle forced the players off the field just after the toss.

A two hour plus delay meant that the game was shortened to nine overs a side. Even though Zimbabwe managed to bat the nine overs, a further two overs were deducted owing to another round of showers during South Africa’s chase of 80. After the DLS method was employed and the target reduced to 64, further rain forced the umpires to call the game off.

Earlier, Zimbabwe had won the toss and opted to bat first. The Craig Ervine led-side were opened up by South Africa’s pace attack and were four down at 19 after four overs. Lungi Ngidi picked two wickets off his first over while Wayne Parnell claimed the Zimbabwe skipper. A horrible mix up in the middle and David Miller’s direct hit from point brought another wicket.

🚨 NO RESULT

The stop-start nature of the game comes to an end as rain has the final say, despite our best efforts to chase down the target.#ZIMvSA #T20WorldCup #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/8JbCj342f0

— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) October 24, 2022

Wesley Madhevere (35 off 18) then found a way back alongside Milton Shumba (18 off 20) as the duo stitched together 60 runs off the last five overs to take Zimbabwe’s total to 79.

de Kock almost wins the race

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80 off 9 overs was never going to be enough to defend against batting powerhouse South Africa. And it became evident in the first over itself as Quinton de Kock produced 23 runs off Tendai Chatara.

The South Africa keeper continued the assault in the next over, taking on Richard Ngarava for four more boundaries as the scorecard read 40/0.

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The southpaw looked in great touch scoring an unbeaten 47 off 18 deliveries as he tried to race to the finish line before rain forced a no result. But with the rain showing no sign of stopping and Zimbabwe players slipping on the wet surface, the officials had to adjudge the game inconclusive.

Brief Scores: South Africa 51/0 in three overs (Quinton de Kock 47, Temba Bavuma 2) NR Zimbabwe 79 for five in 9 overs (Wesley Madhevere 35, Milton Shumba 18, Lungi Ngidi 2/20, Wayne Parnell, Anrich Nortje 1/10)

Rahul Pandey

Rahul Pandey is Senior Sub Editor on the Sports Desk of The Indian Express. Based out of New Delhi, he primarily writes and talks about cricket and football. You can also find him while surfing through The Indian Express YouTube channel, where he hosts the video offerings from the sports team. Working with the online team on the daily developments in world sports, Rahul holds a keen interest in dissecting the personalities of the game's many protagonists as well as tracking the big picture trends that affect the game. He started out as a sports radio jockey and previously worked with cricketnews.com, creating content offerings for The Bharat Army, Betway and LiveScore. His passion for sports was kindled by his father's tales of tuning in to radio for keeping tabs on India's Test cricket tours as well and FIFA World Cup finals. ... Read More

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