India tour of South Africa: First T20I called off without a ball bowled due to incessant rains

The India vs South Africa first T20I has been called off in Durban without a ball being bowled on Sunday, December 10.

India had come into the contest with a lot of momentum on their side after beating Australia at home 4-1. The Indian team had also brought in some of their World Cup heroes in the squad as they prepare for the T20 World Cup in June next year in the West Indies and the USA.

The South Africa series is the penultimate one for India before the ICC event in June 2024 with the final assignment being a home series against Afghanistan. The Indian team had a total of six T20I matches before the T20 World Cup and every match was crucial.

However, rain became the villain on Sunday as the rain predictions a day before became a reality. Before the team arrived at Kingsmead, the pitch was covered, which hinted that we were going to be in for a delayed start and a rain-affected game.

After that, the toss was pushed back as rain continued to pour in at the ground, much to the dismay of the fans who had turned up for the game.

Updates coming in continued to be negative in nature as the drizzle in Durban continued. The game was all set to lose overs by 8:10 PM IST. There was still hope for a game to happen, but the umpires inspection of the ground ended it.

The match was ultimately called off without a ball being bowled and now both teams will switch their attention to the second match on December 12. The match will be taking place at the St. George’s Park in Gqeberha.

At the moment, there is rain predicted for the second match as well in Eastern Cape.