Australia vs South Africa match abandoned after relentless rain in Rawalpindi in Champions Trophy

After persistent drizzle, the much-anticipated Champions Trophy match between Australia and South Africa in Rawalpindi washed out without a toss, let alone a bowled ball. The game was abandoned at 5.10 p.m. local time, three hours and ten minutes after the scheduled start of play at 2 p.m., and two hours and 22 minutes before the cutoff time for a 20-overs-a-side game, which was 7.32 p.m. local time. The teams were scheduled to meet for the first time at a Champions Trophy. As a result, Australia and South Africa will advance to the semi-finals if they win their final group matches against Afghanistan and England, respectively. Afghanistan and England will play in a knockout match on Wednesday, with the winner certain to miss out on the tournament. For the winner to advance to the final four, they will need to defeat their next opponent. As a consequence of this, one of Friday's matches between Australia and Afghanistan and Saturday's match between South Africa and England may turn into a virtual quarterfinal. Both Afghanistan and England have to win both their matches to qualify for the semi-finals. South Africa played their cards close to their chest regarding Heinrich Klaasen's availability since no XIs were named for this match. He missed their opening match against Afghanistan with an elbow injury and now has three more days to recover before the game against England on Saturday. This was due to be the first meeting between Australia and South Africa since the 2023 ODI World Cup semi-final, which Australia won, and means that they continue to have the advantage over South Africa in ICC events. Australia has won four of its nine matches, South Africa has won three, there was a tie at the 1999 World Cup, and this is their first loss.