India v South Africa: Rain halts play as 2nd T20I ends in stalemate

Rain turned out to be the culprit in Chennai as an exciting battle came to an end without a result. South Africa made 177 runs in the first innings but persistent rain led to the abandonment of the game before India could come out to bat in the second T20I on Sunday (July 7).

India won the toss and elected to bowl first on a slow and spin-friendly pitch just like the first game. Harmanpreet Kaur made four changes to the side after a defeat on Friday. Uma Chetry was handed her maiden international cap, replacing wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh who missed out due to concussion. The other three additions were Shreyanka Patil, Sajana Sajeevan and Arundhati Reddy who came in place of Dayalan Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana and Renuka Singh Thakur.

In-form Laura Wolvaardt took charge and gave the Proteas a headstart along with Tazmin Brits. The South African skipper targeted Reddy by smashing three consecutive boundaries in the third over. However, her quickfire innings was cut short on 22 runs in the fourth over after hammering a shot at point where Radha Yadav was present. 

Having played the role of an anchor in the previous series against Australia and Sri Lanka, Wolvaardt has shifted gears in this series as she has been going after the Indian bowling attack. Wolvaardt played with a strike rate of 150 in the first T20I and 183.33 in the second T20I, which is way above her average strike rate of 114.83 in 2024.

Coming back to South Africa's innings, Wolvaardt and Brits guided the visiting side to a total of 66 runs at the end of the powerplay. But Chennai's slow surface played an important role in favour of Indian bowlers in the middle overs.

Deepti Sharma led India's spin attack, turning the ball and getting it to bounce while also changing her pace at the same time. Marizanne Kapp fell victim to the off-spinner, scoring 20 runs of 14 balls. South Africa's run rate fell down significantly in the middle overs. In the powerplay, they had four overs where they scored in double digits. On the other hand, they scored in double digits on only two occasions between the seventh and the 18th over.

Brits scored her second consecutive half-century before becoming Deepti's second prey. She misjudged the delivery while coming down the track, and Chetry got her debut stumping. Next batter Chloe Tryon gifted Radha a soft caught-and-bowled dismissal.

South Africa were 146 for 4 with only two overs remaining. Nadine de Klerk and Anneke Bosch gave the Proteas the big over they were looking for. Shreyanka conceded 18 runs in the penultimate over, but also dismissed Bosch in the final delivery. Pooja Vastrakar added another wicket to her tally in the final over by sending de Klerk back to the pavilion, but Annerie Dercksen hit three consecutive fours to end South Africa's innings on a high note. 

India were tasked to chase 178 runs, but just before their innings could commence, heavy rain got the better of the game and it had to be abandoned. 

Brief scores: South Africa 177/6 in 20 overs (Tazmin Brits 52, Anneke Bosch 40; Deepti Sharma 2-20) vs India. Match abandoned.