Rain god played the spoilsport in the fifth and the final T20I between India and South Africa which was being played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday (June 19). The rain-marred match was finally called off which left the five-match series at 2-2.
With this, South Africa keep their proud record intact - of not having lost a limited-overs series on Indian soil since 2010.
Rain continued to flirt with the decider match, as it first delayed the game right after the toss and then after 3.3 overs, when India were 28/2 the heaven opened up again. Openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan were the two batters dismissed. Earlier, the players had entered the field of play when it started raining. It rained for close to 20 minutes, leaving the outfield soggy and reducing the match to 19-over-a-side contest.
Lungi Ngidi got both the wickets of Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad with a couple of slower deliveries. Kishan hit two sixes off Kehsav Maharaj's opening over but was undone by a loopy slower delivery from Ngidi as he committed to the shot early and played all over it.
Gaikwad also failed to pick up a slower delivery and was holed out at mid-on before the heavens opened up again to stop the series decider.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was adjudged the Player of the Series for his splendid show with the ball throughout the series
South Africa started on a roll winning the first two games as the standout performers for them were David Miller, Rassie van der Dussen and Heinrich Klaasen. India then made a stunning comeback, winning the next couple of games with ease and Bhuvneshwar Kumar was someone who remained consistent throughout for the hosts.
Apart from him, the likes of Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal and Avesh Khan all provided at least one strong performance.
Both teams will now look forward to their next series with the T20 World Cup looming large on the horizon. India next travel to the United Kingdom to play Ireland in a couple of T20Is starting June 26. South Africa, on the other hand, have a full-fledged tour of England coming up in mid-July. That is it from our coverage of this series but there's a lot of cricketing action going on across the globe.
