Our Sports Reporter
GUWAHATI: The IPL tie between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders washed out without a ball being bowled at the ACA Stadium, Barsapara here today. Both the team shared one point each.
A good crowd was expected in the game and most of them already entered into the ground before the start of the rain. It was around 6-45 pm when the rain started. Both the captains were waiting to go for the toss. Initially it was a light drizzle but as the time progressed the ground witnessed heavy shower that forced the groundsmen to put cover in entire ground. Crowd at the stand also rushed out from the gallery to cover them from rain.
After nearly two hours it looked like that there was possibility that the game will begin as groundsmen started to remove cover from the ground.
Soon, additional covers were brought in and the forecast was not looking promising with the drizzle varying between heavy and steady, keeping the teams as well as fans waiting. With the cut-off time for a five-over shootout set at 10.56 pm local time, the rain stopped at 10 pm and covers were pulled off, with super soppers working in full swing.
With the rain threat still looming, KKR chose to bowl first in a seven-overs-per-side shootout. But ahead of the start of the truncated game, rain returned, and the covers were back in place.
The inevitable happened at 10:49 pm when captains Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson shook hands to signal the abandonment of the match, with both RR and KKR receiving a point each.
It is the third occassion when a cricket match was abandoned at the ACA Stadium. First time it was happened in 2020 when India and Sri Lanka supposed to face each other in a T20 match. Later in 2023 warm up tie between India and England was washed out without a ball being bowled.
The abandonment of last league game means table-toppers KKR will face Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 1 at Ahmedabad on Tuesday, while third-placed RR will take on the in-form Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Eliminator at the same venue on Wednesday. It’s also the first time that KKR have ended an IPL league stage as table-toppers.
IPL Points Table:
Teams Mat W L NR Pts. NRR
Kolkata Knight Riders 14 9 3 2 20 +1.428
Sunrisers Hyderabad 14 8 5 1 17 +0.414
Rajasthan Royals 14 8 5 1 17 +0.273
Royal Challengers 14 7 7 0 14 +0.459
Chennai Super Kings 14 7 7 0 14 +0.392
Delhi Capitals 14 7 7 0 14 -0.377
Lucknow Super Giants 14 7 7 0 14 -0.667
Gujarat Titans 14 5 7 2 12 -1.063
Punjab Kings 14 5 9 0 10 -0.353
Mumbai Indians 14 4 10 0 8 -0.318
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