10.13pm Shame there could be no second innings. Would have been a riveting chase. Some positive signs for both sides. Tazmin Brits continued her excellent form while Anneke Bosch also got among the runs. For India, Deepti picked two wickets for just 20 runs, while Pooja Vastrakar bowled with some pace. That will be all from us tonight. In case you missed any of the action, Shashank's report will be up soon. Till then, this is me Ashish Pant, signing off on behalf of Shashank Kishore and Ranjith. Good night.

10.05pm The weather has the last say with the second T20I in Chennai has been called off due to persistent rain. The no-result means that South Africa now cannot lose the series. India have a chance to level the series when these two teams come back for the third game on Tuesday (June 9). South Africa, meanwhile, will want to take the series 2-0.

Meenakshi : "We used to sing a song in school - I like the pit, pit, patter of the raindrops, I like the buzz, buzz, buzzing of the bees..and so it went. Seems cricket likes it too, that's why it leaves the rain alone so it can pour itself out to resume the match!"

9.53pm Nothing much to report other than that the drizzle has gotten heavier. The cut-off time is approximately 20 minutes away.

Asahel: "Well, if the "knowledgeable" Chennai crowd have given up hope, I don't think there is much left. "

9.40pm A steady drizzle is back, but the ground staff continue to work on the outfield with the Super Soppers. Srinidhi says people have started to leave the stadium.

9.32pm The umpires are out inspecting the conditions. The drizzle has thinned, says Srinidhi.

9.26pm More covers coming on. We've started losing overs from 9.16pm The cut-off time for a five-over game is 10.13pm

9.15pm Srinidhi is back with an update. "The drizzle has gotten a bit heavier," she says. "Umbrellas are out. They have covered the square of the wicket as well. There's a movement in the stands to find the shelter.

9.05pm We should've resumed by now, but sadly there's steady pitter-patter. Not torrential, but that irritating kind of rain that can't get the players back on once they're off the field.

No one is really scrambling for cover. So there is hope that this interruption is very brief. Let's hope we're back on very soon. The pitch has been covered, Srinidhi informs me from Chepauk.

Can assure you it's the kind of drizzle that won't bother umpires if they were on the field. But cricket's tryst with rigidity is something that's beyond me even in this day and age.

8.52pm South Africa collect 31 runs off the final two overs and what was looking like a score in the mid 160s ends up being 177 for 6. India will still be pleased with their effort after the flier South Africa got. Tazmin Brits got a reprieve early and made the Indians pay as South Africa raced to 66 for 1 after six overs. But, Deepti Sharma and the spinners got India back in the game. Brits scored back to back fifties while Anneke Bosch's 40 off 32 and Annerie Dercksen's three-ball 12 too South Africa to a fighting total. Can India chase this down and save the series? Join Shashank in a bit to find out.

Anneke Bosch: It was good, it was a bit difficult, more difficult for me. It was a bit slower than I thought the wicket to be. I wanted to get a partnership in. We are pleased. Still have a job to do with the ball. But pleased with the score we got on the board today. We had a flier at the start and we were looking to get to a similar score to the other night. It was a little bit difficult to score later on with the pitch getting slower and the ball getting softer.

Annerie Dercksen to face her first ball

Marx comes in