Thaindian News

Bangalore, April 20 (IANS) The rain gods played spoilsport late Tuesday, forcing the umpires to call off the much-awaited Indian Premier League match between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) without a ball being bowled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in this tech hub.

“The umpires called off the match, as no play is possible due to intermittent rains continuing after the start was delayed twice,” a Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) official told IANS, even as about 5,000 die-hard fans began trooping out of the stadium disheartened.

The umpires - Rudi Kurtzein of South Africa and Billy Doctrove of the West Indies - took the final call on play not being possible after a third inspection of the pitch and the outfield at 10.45 p.m. when there was no let-up in the rain.

“As there was no play, both the teams will be awarded one point each,” the official added.

Efforts to begin the truncated match at 10.30 p.m. with 12 overs each were put paid to as the drizzle started again and only increased as the clock ticked away.

Hoping against hope, another attempt to have even a six-over match three hours after the scheduled time was thwarted with no respite from the drizzle.

Though the rain-gifted point has pushed up Royal Challengers to ninth position from 10th, Rajasthan Royals make it to the second place.

But Pune Warriors and Mumbai Indians, which are in the third and fourth places respectively, have only played three games each compared to five played by both the Royals.