Thaindian News

Bangalore, Oct 1 (IANS) Heavy and unabated rain late Friday washed out an exciting contest between spirited Mumbai Indians and South African Cape Cobras in the ICC Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) at the Chinnaswamy cricket stadium in this tech hub.

With no let-up in the rain even 90 minutes after the break and prospects of play resuming ruled out, the organisers abandoned the match and awarded one point to both the teams.

Within minutes after Mumbai set a defendable target of 176 for five wickets in 20 overs, dark clouds opened up over the city centre and started pounding the stadium even as the ground staff scampered to cover the 22-yard pitch in the middle and the circular green outfield with massive tarpaulin sheets.

Earlier, Mumbai set a target of 177 for Cobras after they were put to bat first.

Starting on a blazing note, Mumbai’s openers Aiden Blizzard (19) and Sarul Kanwar (45) posted a breezy 65-run first partnership in 6.3 overs, with six sixes and four fours between them before Robin Peterson got them caught both times by English player Owais Shah in seventh and ninth over.

Though Cobras got rid of Ambati Rayudu quickly, James Franklin (18) and Kieron Pillard consolidated the innings and accelerated the run-rate through the middle overs with a 69-run fourth wicket partnership.

After Blizzard smashed five sixes and three fours to score 45 in 21 balls earlier, it was the turn of Pollard to hit three massive sixes and six fours for a cameo innings of 58 in 37 balls.

For Cobras, Robin Peterson took two wickets, while Dale Steyn, Jean-Paul Duminy and Kemp shared one wicket each.

With two previous wins against Chennai Super Kings Sep 24 in Chennai and Trinidad & Tobago in Bangalore Sep 26, Mumbai has five points from three games.

Cobras, however, have to be contended with three points from as many matches as they came here after winning over New South Wales Sep 24 in Hyderabad but losing to Chennai Super Kings in Chennai Sep 28.

Though league matches of the third edition of the CLT20 over the last week have not set the stands on fire due to poor response, about 8,000-10,000 die-hard fans of the game have been trooping into the stadium to witness the league matches between group A & B teams.

With the south-west monsoon on the withdrawal mode, the sudden downpour caught the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) unawares, as the garden city has been experiencing hot and humid days and cloudy and breezy nights over the last two weeks.

“As the three matches played here since September 23 were rain-free, the heavy showers after Mumbai innings was unexpected though clouds were hovering over since evening,” a KSCA official told IANS even as it was pouring without respite.

– Indo-Asian News Service
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