Pat Cummins-led Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have become the third team after Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) to secure a spot in the IPL 2024 playoffs after rain washed out their clash against Gujarat Titans at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on May 16. 

Due to the match being called off without a ball being bowled, both SRH and GT now share a point each. With SRH’s tally now at 15 points, it means they have now qualified for the playoffs.

They now need to beat Punjab Kings (PBK) on May 19 and hope for RR to lose to KKR to have a shot at top two finish.

SRH getting into playoffs means Delhi Capitals (DC) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will get knocked out of the race to playoffs. It also means the last playoff spot will be decided by the all-important clash between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on May 18.

Hours before the start of play in Hyderabad, it began to rain in the city. A post on social media platform X from the director of enforcement, vigilance and disaster management of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation said: “Heavy rainfall is expected today in Hyderabad city. Till 6 pm there is a break in rainfall today and may resume after 6 pm. Citizens may plan their travel accordingly.”

Visuals from the ground showed the playing area being under blue covers and tyres kept on the partition areas, with soggy patches already forming in the outfield areas which haven’t been covered.

With slightly dark clouds over the ground, the chances of a game went bleak till 7:15 pm, when covers began to come off and super soppers worked relentlessly.

At 7:45 pm, it was announced that the toss would happen at 8 pm and the match would begin at 8:15 pm. But eight minutes before the toss, drizzle was back, so was the covers. With the drizzle turning into a heavy downpour and showing no signs of easing, it became increasingly apparent that the match would be called off.

On-field umpires Nand Kishore and Virender Sharma, holding umbrellas in their hand, were involved in a discussion with the ground-staff around 10pm to assess if there was time in hand to have the ground ready for a five-over shootout. Eleven minutes later, the umpires called up captains and hands were shaken for the game to be officially called off due to rain.

GT also became the first team in IPL to have back-to-back abandoned matches without a single ball bowled, in what was also a gloomy end to their IPL 2024 season. The Shubman Gill-led side were to wear the lavender jersey to support cancer awareness, but didn’t get the chance to do so due to rain.

(This story was taken from a syndicated feed, and edited only for style by Gujarat Samachar Digital staff)

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