Rain forces postponement of IPL final to Monday

Rain delays toss
Groundsmen holding umbrellas stand near the covered pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Photo: PTI/Kunal Patil

Ahmedabad: The final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Gujarat Titans (GT) was moved to Monday's reserve day after relentless rain played spoilsport here on Sunday.

The announcement was made at 10:55 pm (IST).

With the weather forecast not being too promising for the final on Sunday, it only kept getting worse for the fans who had turned up to pack the Narendra Modi Stadium.

It began raining in the evening half an hour before the toss time around 6. 30 pm and did not stop for longer durations at least for the next two-and-a-half hours.

The rain, however, did stop after 9 pm and the covers were taken off, with two super sopper already in action from around 8.30 pm.

However, heavy spell of rain returned to force the ground staff to cover the field again and players off the pitch, who had started warming up.

There were some serious puddles on the covers and exposed parts of the outfield, which would have taken the groundstaff more than a hour to clear, provided the rain had stopped.

There are no predictions of rain here on Monday, which means that there is full possibility of a full match.

If the reserve day is also affected by weather conditions or is washed out, the team which ended first after the league round, wins the title.

Defending champions GT had topped the points table after the 70-match league round, finishing as the only team to have won 10 out of 14 matches and 20 points. CSK finished second with 17 points.

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