South Africa maintain 1-0 lead after second T20I abandoned

Chennai: Persistent rain forced the abandonment of the second women’s T20 International between India and South Africa after the visitors made 177/6 in their innings here today. It helped South Africa maintain their 1-0 lead in the three-match series, and now, India will have to win the final T20I here on Tuesday to avoid a rare home series defeat. The start of the match was delayed by 15 minutes because of rain and it was a spoilsport on three occasions during South Africa’s innings without stopping the proceedings. But the heavens opened up during the innings break, sufficient to force the teams to stay put in their respective dressing rooms. Earlier, Tazmin Brits (in pic) made a measured fifty as the Proteas overcame some mid-innings jitters to post a challenging total after being asked to bat first. Brits (52 off 39 balls) received solid support from Anneke Bosch (40 off 32 balls) as the Proteas racked up their second-highest T20I total against India. PTI