Rain Dashes South Africa Hopes In ICC T20 World Cup Match Against Zimbabwe

History repeats as the South African cricket team became unlucky yet again. The first match between the Proteas and Zimbabwe in the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup was washed out because of the heavy downpour. In the Super 12 Group 12 match, South Africa and Zimbabwe shared one point each. It dealt a blow to the semifinal hopes of the nation. 

Points shared with persistent rain in Hobart 🤝#SAvZIM | #T20WorldCup | 📝: https://t.co/D7bhRRb9Qa pic.twitter.com/Ktn0Sd7YRQ

— ICC (@ICC) October 24, 2022

Zimbabwe scored 79/5 in 9 overs while batting first. South Africa would blame themselves for the 32 runs they had conceded in the last two overs of the Zimbabwe innings. They also gave away five penalty runs, and it took the target to a high level. 

South Africa was unlucky in 1992

South African cricket team chased with a coherent plan. They smashed the ball hard and scored as many runs as possible. The former World Cup hosts scored 51 runs in three overs. Many fans would think they could have scored the remaining runs had the play got extended to 10 minutes more. 

Rain, South Africa & World Cups 🤷🏼‍♂️💔

1992 ▶️ 2022 🥲 pic.twitter.com/8GKRUbAypU

— Vasanth_Kumar (@Vasanth51032168) October 24, 2022

In the 1992 World Cup semifinal against England, South Africa needed 22 runs off 13 balls in Sydney to move into the final. However, rain showered heavily, and the target was revised to 22 off 1 ball. South African fans were in disbelief as rain defeated their hopes to hit hard and chase the runs. 

Will this loss affect their title hopes?

A win would have helped South Africa to boost their chances of reaching the semifinal. However, it did not happen, which meant they have to win the remaining four matches to make a move into the semis. 

We are back on and South Africa's revised target is 64 runs in 7 overs 👊🏻#SAvZIM | #T20WorldCup | 📝: https://t.co/D7bhRRb9Qa pic.twitter.com/V9Q5abSlM9

— ICC (@ICC) October 24, 2022

In the last World Cup, the Proteas won four out of five games but failed to qualify for the semifinal with a low net run rate. They would hope history is kinder to them in the Australian edition.

South Africa has never won an ICC title. They like to make amends, but other factors are deriding them.