IND vs SA | Series shared after Bengaluru’s damp squib affair

The five-match T20I series between South Africa and hosts India ended on a soddened note at Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Tipped to be a high-scoring series finale on an exciting Sunday evening, three and a half overs were all that was played out before match officials called off the contest.

Before the match, interim South African skipper Keshav Maharaj won the toss and opted to field first, thus marking the fifth straight win at the toss call for the visitors in this series.

Indian openers Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad arrived in the middle after a slight delay due to unfavourable weather conditions. At the time, the match had been reduced to 19-overs-a-side.

Remarkably, Kishan struck two of the first three balls of the match for maximums to collect 16 runs off the opening over from visiting captain Maharaj. After reaching 15 off just six balls, the dynamic left-hander was eventually castled by burly Proteas speedster Lungi Ngidi. The right-arm fast bowler also removed Gaikwad with an off-cutter on what turned out to be the penultimate ball of the match.

At 3.3 overs, constant downpour again called on for the covers, albeit for the final time in the evening. An hour and a half later, the officials called off the match, thus scripting a drenched ending to a closely-fought series.

Notably, the series-decider also marked the 100th match for David Miller’s glittering South African T20I career.

Meanwhile, the series overall served as a benchmark for both sides before the T20 World Cup in Australia this year.

The Men in Blue will soon travel across the English Channel for limited-overs contests and a one-off Test match in Ireland and England. While Hardik Pandya will be leading the Indian team in Ireland T20Is, full-time skipper Rohit Sharma will return to marshal his troops in English conditions in July.