T20 World Cup 2022: Rain has broken South Africa's heart three times at the World Cup

The match result could adversely affect their chances of heading into the next round, as only two teams from each group will move on to the final tour. And this is not the first time the team has experienced such heartbreak due to weather conditions in important tournaments like the World Cup. 

Here are the three times when rain left Proteas heartbroken at a vital stage.

1992 ODI World Cup against England

The 1992 World Cup was incidentally in Australia only, witnessed Proteas getting out of the tournament because of the silliest circumstances. 

Chasing a target of 253 set by England in the semi-finals, South Africa reached 231/6 in 42.5 overs and just needed 22 runs from 13 balls after the match was reduced to 45 overs before rain interrupted the play. 

Both the teams took a 10-minute break, and when they came back to the field and got the shock of their life as they now had to chase 22 runs off one ball. Since there was no Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method to recalculate the total, umpires had no choice but to deduct two overs to compensate for the lost time. 

So just a change in the number of balls and no reduction in target left South Africa disappointed. 

2003 ODI World Cup against Sri Lanka

In 2003, while chasing a target of 269 against Sri Lanka, Proteas faced a similar situation in their backyard when rain forced them to share points with Sri Lanka, further damaging their journey.

South Africa was poised to reach the end-line with a 45-over mark and score at 229/5. It was then that the game was called off. The DLS method showed that the par score of 45 overs was exactly 229, and the game could never resume. It ended with both teams sharing a point each. 

This point proved fatal to South Africa as they needed a win to have a chance of progressing ahead in the next round. The God of rains undid them as they had to bear another rain-induced loss. 

2022 T20 World Cup against Zimbabwe

In a game reduced to nine overs a side, Zimbabwe got off to a bad start, collapsing to 19/4. But they posted a respectable total of 79/5 in 9 overs.  

With the rain already interrupting the game and an unhappy past of rain spoiling South Africa's fate, Quinton de Kock started hammering from the first ball, fetching 23 runs in the first over itself. He dragged the team to 51/0 in three overs before the clouds began to hover and pour again. 

On the way to an easy win that would have given them 2 points and a healthy run rate, they had to eventually settle for a game with "No result" and a shared point. 

The Proteas can hope for better luck with rain the next time.