India vs South Africa 5th T20I: Match abandoned at M Chinnaswamy due to rain, series shared

Bengaluru, June 19: The fifth T20 International between India and South Africa saw just 21 balls before the skies opened up for the second time at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday (June 19). Due to the incessant rain, the match officials finally decided to call it off as hosting a game at this venue wasn't possible. With that, the series was shared at 2-all.

Earlier in the day, the hosts lost their openers Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad in quick succession before the rain gods stopped the play for the second time in the evening. Prior to that, a sharp spell of shower delayed the proceedings in front of a packed stadium. The Indian openers had already entered the field of play and just before the first ball was supposed to be bowled, the heavens opened up and there was a burst of rain for close to 20 minutes which left the outfield soggy.

The match was reduced to a 19-over-a-side game and started at 7:50 pm but it didn't last long. But prior to that, Kishan scored a 7-ball 15 before South Africa pacer Lungi Ngidi cleaned him up with a slower one. The right-arm pacer impressed once again when dismissed Gaikwad in his next over. Gaikwad - while trying to up the ante in a rain-curtailed game - couldn't connect well with the bat and was caught at mid-on by Dwaine Pretorius. Gaikwad could only muster 10 runs tonight and the hosts were two down in the powerplay.

For India, Shreyas Iyer and captain Rishabh Pant were in the middle but soon the skies opened up once again and the umpire's signaled the players to walk back towards the pavilion. India's scorecard read 28 for 2 in 3.3 overs.

Earlier in the day, India skipper Pant lost his fifth successive toss as the visitors' stand-in captain Keshav Maharaj won the toss and elected to field first in the series-deciding fifth T20I.

Playing XIs:

India: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan.

South Africa: Quinton de Kock(w), Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Tristan Stubbs, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj(c), Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje.