March is approaching, but Pakistan has seen some showers ahead of the Australia vs South Africa match at Rawalpindi Stadium. Rain in February is unusual, but when South Africa plays in an ICC event, rain interruptions seem inevitable, regardless of the season. The start of the seventh match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 between Australia and South Africa has been delayed due to continuous rain. This is nothing new, as South Africa has experienced multiple rain-affected matches in ICC events since their return to international cricket in 1992. More than a dozen of the matches of South Africa have been affected by rain over the years in the ICC events. Ten of 15 rain affected games in 50-over ICC events have come in the ICC Cricket World Cup, while the other five, are of the Champions Trophy. Including the match against Australia in ICC CT 2025, South Africa's Champions Trophy games have been affected by rain on five occasions. Rain Affected Matches of South Africa in Champions Trophy Year Against Result 1998 Sri Lanka Won by South Africa 2009 Sri Lanka Lost by South Africa 2013 West Indies Tied 2017 Pakistan Lost by Pakistan 2025 Australia Abandoned (Without Toss) Also Read | Pakistan Stadium Row: Indian Flag Snatched, Fan Detained 1998 Champions Trophy: Semi-Final against Sri Lanka (Dhaka) Image Source: Getty Images During the first Champions Trophy's semi-final, rain cut short the game to 39 overs for each team. South Africa scored 240/7, but due to rain, the new target for Sri Lanka was of 224 runs in 34 overs. But Sri Lanka battled against the Proteas' bowling lineup and were bowled out a long way from the target. South Africa won the game by 92 runs, moving into the final, where they won their first and only ICC title. 2009 Champions Trophy: Group Stage against Sri Lanka (Centurion) Image Source: Getty Images Rain interfered with South Africa's efforts again in the 2009 edition. Sri Lanka gave a tough target of 319 in 50 overs. In response, South Africa was at 206/7 in 37.4 overs when the rain interrupted the play. Applying the DLS system, the par score on that point in time was 262, such that South Africa was far off the target set. Consequently, Sri Lanka clinched victory by 55 runs (DLS), giving the Proteas a heartbreaking defeat. Also Read | Pat Cummins Slams Aussie Media for Fake Quotes on India 2013 Champions Trophy: Group Stage v West Indies (Cardiff) Image Source: PA Photos A rain-affected thriller had South Africa take on the West Indies in Cardiff. South Africa batted first and put up a target of 231 in 31 overs after rain had interrupted their innings. The West Indies were 190/6 in 26.1 overs when rain struck again, with Kieron Pollard losing his wicket on the last ball before the rain halted the play. When the match was called-off, West Indies DLS par score was precisely 190, resulting in a rare tie. As South Africa had a better net run rate, they progressed to the semi-finals ahead of West Indies. 2017 Champions Trophy: Group Stage vs Pakistan (Birmingham) Image Source: Getty Images South Africa's run of bad luck in rain-affected games continued in the 2017 tournament. They batted first and were able to get 219 off 50 overs. Pakistan, batting second, were 119/3 off 27 overs when rain cut short play. The DLS par score then was 100, so Pakistan were ahead when the match was abandoned. Therefore, Pakistan won by 19 runs (DLS), and South Africa suffered another defeat in a rain-interrupted game. Also Read | Panelist Gives Bizarre Reason for Pakistan's Loss to India 2025 Champions Trophy: Group Stage vs Australia (Rawalpindi) Image Source: Associated Press The most recent blow by rain to South Africa in the ICC Champions Trophy came in the 2025 edition when the group stage match between Australia and South Africa was abandoned without a ball being bowled. If rain had not played spoilsport, South Africa had a chance to secure their spot in the semi-finals. However, with the points being shared between Australia and South Africa, their next match against England will be a must-win to secure a knockout spot. Conclusion Rain has been a major contributor to South Africa's Champions Trophy history, at times playing in their favor, such as in 2013, and sometimes against them, as was the case in 2009 and 2017. In spite of their great performances, weather interruptions have been responsible for heartbreaks for the Proteas in the tournament.