Thick fog in the northern city of Lucknow caused fourth T20 International between South Africa and India to be abandoned without a ball bowled at the Bharat Ratna Ekana Stadium on Wednesday. There was no toss and no teams were announced.
The adverse meteorological conditions were exacerbated by the notorious pollution in the air with toxicity readings well into the ‘hazardous’ zone; several Indian players were seen wearing face masks on the outfield while reluctantly considering pre-match warm-ups.
India hold a 2-1 lead in a peculiar series in which all three matches so far have been heavily one-sided.
The hosts won the first and third matches by 101 runs and seven wickets having bowled the tourists out for just 74 and 117, but the Proteas won the second match by similarly convincing 51 runs.
The fifth and final match of the series will be played at the imposing Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday.