ICC Champions Trophy: Rain forces abandonment of Champions Trophy clash between Australia and South Africa

The Champions Trophy match between Australia and South Africa was called off without any play due to rain at the Rawalpindi Stadium on Tuesday.

Precipitation began early in the morning and, although it eased to a light drizzle, the conditions deteriorated further with poor visibility, resulting in a delay of the toss that was originally set for 13:30 local time.

As the rain persisted and the ground staff struggled to clear standing water from the covers protecting the pitch, the umpires ultimately decided to cancel the Group B encounter.

A small group of fans, waving South African and Australian flags, waited in anticipation for the match to commence but were left disappointed as no play occurred.

With each team earning one point from this fixture, both Australia and South Africa remain in a strong position for the semi-finals, having secured victories in their respective opening matches of the tournament.

South Africa currently leads the table with three points, following their 107-run victory over Afghanistan in their first game, and boasts a net run rate of 2.14. Australia holds second place with the same point total but a net run rate of 0.475.

On Wednesday, England will face Afghanistan in Lahore in a crucial match for both teams, as they seek redemption after losing their initial games.

Australia captain Steve Smith said the rain-out at least left his team knowing that a victory over Afghanistan on Friday would secure their place in the semi-finals.

"I did look at the Apple weather and it showed rain for the next few days but didn't expect it to be a wash-out, you can't do much about it," said Smith.

"The equation is pretty simple now, on to the next one against Afghanistan and if we win we are locked into the top four."

South African skipper Temba Bavuma said the abandonment was disappointing for all involved.

"Yeah, it's frustrating, we wanted to have some cricket and so did the fans, also wanting to watch two sides in confidence," said Bavuma, adding that batter Heinrich Klaasen had fully recovered from a sore elbow.

"Klaasen is fit and adds value to our team. We will watch England play Afghanistan (in Lahore on Wednesday) to have an idea against them in our last match (in Karachi on Saturday)."

India and New Zealand advanced to the semi-finals from Group A on Monday, while the defending champions Pakistan and Bangladesh were eliminated from the tournament.