Hyderabad: After rain cancelled their game against Gujarat Titans at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday, Pat Cummins’ Sunrisers Hyderabad became the third team, after Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals, to guarantee a position in the IPL 2024 playoffs.
Now that the game has been abandoned before a ball has been bowled, SRH and GT are tied at one point apiece. SRH has officially qualified for the playoffs with a total of 15 points. To have a chance at finishing in the top two, they must now defeat Punjab Kings on Sunday and pray that Rajasthan Royals lose to Kolkata Knight Riders.
Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants would be eliminated from the race for the postseason if SRH advances. Additionally, it means that the crucial match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings on Saturday at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru will determine the final playoff place.
It started to rain in Hyderabad many hours before the match. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation’s Director of Enforcement, Vigilance, and Disaster Management posted on social networking site X with the following message: “Heavy rainfall is expected today in Hyderabad city.” There will be a break in the rain until 6 p.m., after which it might continue. Travel plans can be made appropriately by citizens.
Images taken from the ground revealed that the playing field was covered in blue cloths, that tyres were left on the dividing sections and that muddy patches were already developing in the uncovered outfield sections. The likelihood of a game was quite slim until 7:15 p.m., when the covers started to fall off and super soppers started working nonstop. There were still some slightly dark clouds over the land.
It was announced at 7:45 p.m. that the toss would take place at 8 p.m. and the match would start at 8:15 p.m. However, the drizzle returned eight minutes before toss, along with the covers. The rain was still coming down hard and didn’t seem to be stopping, so it looked more and more likely that the game would be cancelled.
Around 10 o’clock at night, field umpires Nand Kishore and Virender Sharma, with umbrellas, were having a conversation with the ground crew to determine whether there was enough time to prepare the field for a five-over shootout. Eleven minutes later, the umpires formally cancelled the game due to rain by calling captains and shaking hands.
In another depressing way, GT’s IPL 2024 season came to an end, as they became the first team in IPL history to have consecutive abandoned matches without bowling a single ball. Rain prevented the Shubman Gill-led team from wearing the lavender jersey, which was intended to raise awareness of cancer.