Numerous cricket matches have been ruined by the rain. Rain has ended cricket contests that had so much potential.
In a Test match, rain prevents one side from enforcing its advantage and lets the team on the losing end escape with a draw. And last but not least, in limited overs cricket, rain can frequently provide one team a major edge due to the rules in place for altering targets if the game is delayed. On the other hand, a perfectly balanced game is frequently wrecked by rain.
- Nathan Astle – 91* vs West Indies, 2002
Former New Zealand cricketer Nathan Astle played for his nation in all forms of the game. One of the most productive players to ever represent New Zealand was Astle. He amassed 7090 runs in 223 ODI games at an average of 34.93 and claimed 99 wickets. Rain prevented Astle from hitting a century once when they were just 9 runs away from doing so. When the rain began to fall and the game was called, he was batting at 91* against the West Indies.
- Paul Collingwood – 91* vs India, 2007
In the fifth one-day match at Leeds in 2007, India defeated England using the Duckworth-Lewis system by 38 runs. When the game was abandoned owing to rain, England was 242 for eight in 39 overs while chasing a revised target, with Paul Collingwood scoring 91 runs and James Anderson remaining unbeaten on one. Rain stopped the game when Collingwood was unbeaten on 91.
- Shoaib Malik – 96* vs Zimbabwe, 2015
With a nerve-wracking five-run Duckworth-Lewis victory in the second game in Harare, Zimbabwe leveled the 2015 one-day international series against Pakistan. When Zimbabwe reduced Pakistan to 76 for six in the 22nd over after giving them a target of 277, it appeared like they would win easily. To give their team a chance, Shoaib Malik (96 not out) and Aamer Yamin (62) combined for 111 runs for the seventh wicket. When it started to rain, Malik was only 4 runs away from scoring a century.
- Quinton de Kock – 92* vs England, 2022
The series ended with a 1-1 tie when South Africa’s opening batsman Quinton de Kock’s unbeaten 92 was rendered meaningless by rain in the third and final one-day international against England on Sunday (26 July 2022). As of the second rain delay at Headingley, the Proteas were 159-2 in the 28th over, with De Kock having scored 92 runs in just 76 balls, including 13 fours.
- Shubman Gill – 98* vs West Indies, 2022
Shubman Gill, the Indian batsman, expressed regret over not being able to complete his century during the third ODI match of the series against the West Indies on July 27, 2022. When it began to drizzle again, Gill’s dismay was clearly visible as he was unbeaten on 98, and he would later kick himself for not moving things forward more quickly as he entered the 90’s.
