Top 5 game changing moments in cricket

4. Rain intervention in England vs South Africa, 1992 World Cup semifinal:

It was South Africa’s first ever World Cup and they came very close to winning it. As a newly formed team, they did so well all throughout the tournament down under, making cricket pundits raise their eyebrows in amazement. Truly due to some incredible performances, they were able to raise their level of the game so well that they eventually managed to book a semifinal slot against England.

England, batting first, made a reasonably good score, leaving South Africa to chase 253 in 45 overs. Just for the readers’ information – due to rain delay in between – the match was restricted to 45 overs per side. The batsmen from the safari land consolidated the innings in the middle overs pretty well after an indifferent start, thanks mainly to Jonty Rhodes and Hansie Cronje. When Brian Mcmillan and David Richardson took the target within the reach of their side who were needed to score just 22 runs of the last 13 balls, the rain intervened.

Due to some bizarre rain rule which was prevailing at that time, the South Africans were asked to achieve an impossible target of 21 runs off one ball, once the rain stopped. It required a mad man to bowl many wides and no balls to help the batsmen to get to that target and Carl Lewis, who bowled the last delivery of the 43rd over, was not that kind. Mcmillan took a single off the last ball of the innings and the dream of “men in green” to reach their first ever World Cup final failed to materialize.