Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) qualified for the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) play-offs after their game against Gujarat Titans (GT) was washed out at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday.
IPL 2024: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Gujarat Titans – HIGHLIGHTS
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 more slightly dark clouds over the ground, the chances of a game went bleak till 7:15pm, when covers began to come off and super soppers working relentlessly.
The toss didn’t happen at scheduled time of 7 PM due to rain and wet outfield. The rain intensified before settling into a steady shower as the covers and outfield stayed covered. At 7:45pm, it was announced that toss would happen at 8pm and match would begin from 8:15pm. But eight minutes before toss, drizzle was back, so as 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.
The cut-off time for a five-over game was 10:56 PM, which meant the drizzle needed to stop for mop-up to begin by around 10:15pm but with rain showing no signs of abating, the official decided to abandon the match.
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 shakes for the game to be officially called off due to rain.
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With the match being abandoned, SRH climbed up into the third spot in the IPL 2024 points table with 15 points from 13 matches. If they win their remaining match against Punjab Kings (PBKS), who have already been eliminated, SRH can book their spot in qualifier 1 with a top-two finish, provided Rajasthan Royals (RR) do not win against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their last game.
The result also means that it comes down to the battle between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday for the last remaining spot in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, GT are already out of the race for the IPL 2024 playoffs, after amassing just 12 points from their 14 games. Last year’s runners-up and 2022 champions were knocked out of the play-off race after their previous match was also abandoned due to rain, becoming the first team in IPL to have back-to-back abandoned matches without a single ball bowled. 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.
Last Playoff Spot Up for Grabs
Four teams — Chennai Super Kings (14), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (12), Delhi Capitals (14) and Lucknow Super Giants (12) — are still in fray for the battle for the last spot.
If LSG win against Mumbai Indians on Friday, they will move to 14 points to stay mathematically alive but CSK will seal the spot if they beat RCB or the game is washed out on Saturday.
If RCB beat CSK by at least 18 runs or 11 balls to spare then they will grab the fourth available spot on the basis of net run-rate as they would be on 14 points, same as DC, CSK and LSG (if they win).
(With inputs from Agencies)
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