RAWALPINDI: The DJ at the Pindi Cricket Stadium kept the fans who had turned up engaged, even as the drizzle turned into a downpour on Tuesday. The square was covered and as the rain got heavier, the umbrellas came out.

It had been raining since morning but for a brief period when it had stopped, umpires Chris Gaffney and Richard Kettleborough had held a pitch inspection at 1:30pm, ultimately deciding to delay the toss.

Three hours had elapsed since and there was no sign of play starting. Fans were still hopeful; it’s not often that South Africa and Australia are in town, and that too playing against each other.

This was, in fact, their first meeting on Pakistani soil. Pakistan had waited nearly three decades for an international tournament to come to its shores. One of the most anticipated fixtures, though, ended in a washout.

By 5pm, the downpour got heavier, the ripples on the covers glinting under the floodlights that had been on since afternoon. With each passing minute and the rain not relenting, chances of any action were dwindling.

Ten minutes later, it was abandoned. The umpires decided with the outfield still damp, there was no chance of meeting the cutoff time of 7:32pm for a 20-over game.

The shared points mean Australia and South Africa, who beat England and Afghanistan respectively in their opening matches, move onto three points from two matches in Group ‘B’.

England and Afghanistan will be looking to open their account when they clash in Lahore on Wednesday.

EQUATION SIMPLE FOR AUSSIES

After the abandonment, Australian captain Steve Smith said the rain-out at least left his team knowing that a victory over Afghanistan on Friday would secure their place in the semi-finals.

“I did look at the Apple weather and it showed rain for the next few days but didn’t expect it to be a wash-out, you can’t do much about it,” said Smith.

“The equation is pretty simple now, on to the next one against Afghanistan and if we win we are locked into top four.”

South African skipper Temba Bavuma said the abandonment was disappointing for all involved.

“Yeah, it’s frustrating, we wanted to have some cricket and so did the fans, also wanting to watch two sides in confidence,” said Bavuma, adding that batter Heinrich Klaasen had fully recovered from a sore elbow.“Klaasen is fit and adds value to our team. We will watch England play Afghanistan [in Lahore on Wednesday] to have an idea against them in our last match [in Karachi on Saturday].”

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2025