5 exciting cricket matches that were ruined by rain

#3 South Africa vs West Indies, Cardiff, 2013

Dale Steyn brought South Africa back into the match by sending Marlon Samuels back

In this Champions Trophy fixture between South Africa and West Indies, the shoe was on the other foot, when a rain curtailed match ended in a dramatic tie that knocked West Indies out of the tournament and sent South Africa to the semis. South Africa scored a competitive 230 in their allotted 31 overs, with Colin Ingram scoring a fine 73. West Indies’ chase looked to be going nowhere when Marlon Samuels started throwing caution to the wind to tilt the match in the favour of the Caribbean side.

However, the skies started to darken and the batsmen knew that Duckworth-Lewis could come into play. At the end of the 26th over of the chase, West Indies looked set to win the contest. Then came Kieron Pollard’s brain freeze moment. West Indies needed to be on 191 for the loss of 6 wickets at that point, but Keiron Pollard threw his bat at a short delivery only to sky it and Dale Steyn completed a comfortable catch when the team total read 190. The downpour ensured no further play was possible. If the rain hadn’t arrived, the match would have surely gone down to the wire with Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy on the crease needing 41 runs in 29 balls.