Hyderabad qualify for playoffs after rain washes out game against Gujarat

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 (GT) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday.

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 on Sunday and hope for Rajasthan Royals to lose to Kolkata Knight Riders to have a shot at top two finish.

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

Hours before the start of play in Hyderabad, it began to rain in the city. A post on social media platform X from Director Of Enforcement, Vigilance and Disaster Management of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation said: “Heavy rainfall is expected today in Hyderabad city. Till 6pm there is a break in rainfall today and may resume after 6pm. 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

Meanwhile, the IPL 2024 has been witness to a widening divide between bat and ball, as the batters have fearlessly racked up massive runs at the expense of the bowlers. To bring in a balance between bat and ball, India’s legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble has suggested that IPL should have bigger boundaries and get more pronounced seam on white balls to keep bowlers in the game.

The overall run rate in IPL 2024 stands at 9.57, which is the highest amongst all editions of the tournament, with 250+ scores above eight. Moreover, IPL 2024 has seen 1133 sixes hit so far, making it the highest number of sixes ever hit in a single edition of IPL.

Indo-Asian News Service