Heavy rain and a water-logged ground forced the third one-dayer between India and South Africa to be abandoned without a ball being bowled in Chennai, India, on Tuesday.
The incessant rain over the past two days soaked the Chidambaram Stadium and umpires Daryl Harper and Krishna Hariharan called off play 45 minutes after the scheduled start time of 2.30pm local time, as the weather showed no signs of clearing.
With no provision for a reserve day, the five-match series remains locked at 1-1 after South Africa won the first match in Hyderabad by five wickets and India drew level with a six-wicket win in Bangalore.
India’s success ended South Africa’s 20-match unbeaten streak just one victory short of Australia’s world record of 21 consecutive wins.
The remaining two matches will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Friday and the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai next Monday.
India’s star batsman Sachin Tendulkar will wait till Friday to become the most-capped player in one-day history by surpassing Pakistani Wasim Akram’s world record of 356 appearances.
Tendulkar (32), who has scored more runs (13 877) and centuries (38) than any batsman in one-day cricket, played his 356th game in Bangalore. — Sapa-AFP