7.35pm It’s Raining Again in Ahmedabad. “It’s drizzling again. Heavy clouds are rolling in,” reports Shashank Kishore.
nabeel: “I will be surprised if Nalkande or Dayal play ahead of Mavi today.”
7.30pm We’re still 15 minutes away from the toss. Al Muthu explores how Shubman Gill has expanded his T20 game and is hitting more sixes than ever before. He has hit as many sixes in IPL 2023 as he hit in the last two seasons combined.
7.23pm Hello, everyone. Thanks, Ekanth. GT captain Hardik Pandya has marked his run-up and looks set to bowl for his team tonight. Meanwhile, Alzarri Joseph has a reunion with former WI captain and current MI batting coach Kieron Pollard. Ravi Shastri reckons that the pitch has a darkish look to it and might be tacky. He adds it could be a run-fest if there’s some bounce.
Still a little while to go for things to get rolling. In the meantime, you check out a unique educational feature on women’s health by Sruthi Ravindranath here. It talks about players dealing with a range of issues from menstrual disorders to endometriosis, RED-S and more.
Sahir Aryoubi: “As an Afghan I just watch the games where Afghan stars are shining. I can’t wait to see Rashid and Noor playing a vital role for GT.” — Afghanistan quick Naveen-ul-Haq also had an eventful IPL for LSG
7:17pm: Nagraj Gollapudi is our newest good-news bearer – Toss at 7.45pm IST. Start of Play: 8.00pm IST. To initiate smooth sailings, here’s Deivarayan Muthu.
7:12pm: Javagal Srinath is seen talking to Ashish Nehra and Rohit Sharma. The pitch and squares are fully uncovered, warm-ups are in full swing.
6:57pm: The next inspection will be at 7:20pm. MI’s players are trodding out onto the field, so it’s more good news. Stumps have been put back on. Mark Boucher and Rohit Sharma are out, the skipper ruffles his palms on the pitch as they have a chat.
Amal: “Rain does improve MI’s chances. It will get hard for Rashid and Noor to grip the ball with the wet outfield even if they bowl first. “
sumanth: “How is the forecast for rest of the evening” A lot better.
FAISAL Sahul Sa: “Have a roof and if the ball hits it then its 12 runs. LOL”
Samir Dave: “About time we think of fans and uninterrupted play! Such a pity that fans have to wait endlessly for the match to start during such on/off rains. Shouldn’t associations think of building stadiums with collapsible roofs?! I am sure it is something all of us fans/ cricketers would want ! Time to ponder over during this rain break ! Your thoughts ??” Fans certainly deserve shelter and other facilities especially in such conditions. Someone more informed needs to answer the bit about the roofs.
6:51pm: “The rain has thinned,” is the good news from Shashank. “Huge cheer around the ground.” Some people are coming onto the ground, the superspopper is coming out too. Officials are coming out too, the toss is likely to be delayed but the chances of a full game is still decent. The rain is off, covers are being removed, but puddles are splurting from under the boots of Anantha Padmanabhan as he folds in his brollies. It’s official, toss delayed due to rain
6:45pm: The rainwater is dripping out of the covers and the puddles are forming around it. One of the ends has been covered while the other is left open. Rain’s still heavy.
Vijay Thummar: “Rain stops here !! 10KM from Ground. I think we will have full match.”
Sugavan: “Who do you reckon are going to be mainstays in India’s ODIs/T20s? Gill for sure, but what about Gaikwad, Jaiswal, Rinku, Dube etc.?” Since rain-watch is on, turning this into a poll.
Jeevan: “I am 7500 kms away from Ahmedabad in Nuremberg, Germany and want to say it’s not raining here. It is bright and sunny. So it should clear up there too.” Expecting tweets from Cricket Iceland too.
Matthew: “Alright, spit it out: who did the Rain Dance?!”
You can follow the ball-by-ball commentary in Hindi and in Tamil too.
6:38pm: “Rain has only gotten heavier,” pings Shashank. Too heavy for anyone to be present on the field of play. Even the ground staff who are usually milling around the outfield to try and get their set up ready for mop-up operations have retreated to their room besides the sight screen. Sheets of lightning and thunder.”
Here’s the official note on the weather in the playing conditions which are available on the IPL’s official website here: The latest that a five overs per side match can start is 11.56pm (10 minute interval, no timeouts) – with a scheduled finish of 12.50pm. The cut off time for the Final will be 12.26 am for 5 overs per side game.
Afeef: “Is there a reserve day for the final?” Yes
6:30pm A half an hour earlier, the fans were interspersed everywhere but now, the ones in the lower stand have gone to the sheltered seats above. As I type, more covers are being brought onto the outfield.
Shrikant: “What happens if the match is washed off? There is no reserve day” No reserve day. Shashank says, ‘If a match – even a five-over shootout – isn’t possible, a Super Over will decide the winner. Even if that isn’t possible, the team that has finished higher on the table will qualify for the final. (In this case, Gujarat Titans). Super Over can begin as late as 12.50am.’
6:20pm Shashank pings ‘there’s a thin drizzle and the covers are coming on. The pitch is being covered as well.’ A minute or two later, he adds, ‘it’s absolutely hosing down.’ The pictures look gloomy, Ravi Shastri and Matthew Hayden are standing with brollies for the pre-shows on the telly.
Gorang too comments, “Now it started raining heavily.” a couple of minutes later.
Gorang Joshi : “It’s just started raining in Ahmedabad. I live 3 KM away from stadium. Although it’s just a drizzle but can ruin the evening “
Lomesh: “Full of enthusiasm to see the match between squads full of game-changers. “
6:10pm: Given the two teams’ trajectory throughout the season, it’s hard to look past Titans’ stability and power despite their loss to CSK. But MI is showing why they are the most successful IPL franchise. As Sreshth Shah writes in the preview, they’re peaking at the right time, they’ve found a matchwinner in Akash Madhwal to strengthen their weaker suit and their batting standards have been sky high, pun unapologetically intended.
Riyaz: “Wasn’t expecting commentary team to log on so early. I thought only we spectators are eager :D” Cheers, Riyaz. Everyone here is all geared up here. Hemant Brar’s live report has kicked off as well. Hopefully, the excitement levels goes higher as the evening progresses.
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6pm: The final lap of the playoffs race is about to get underway and the group-stage table-toppers Gujarat Titans will take on Mumbai Indians, who are finding a way to muscle and brain their way past obstacles after a rocky start to the season. Titans have been supremely consistent and have a well-rounded side but were stopped in their tracks by a well-oiled CSK machine in the first qualifier. Titans’ top spot gives them a second shot at home and they should have full-strength side available. But conditions might not be all familiar. As our correspondent, Shashank Kishore – who’s at the ground – says, Ahmedabad is very overcast. There was some rain forecast for afternoon but it has so far stayed away. Mumbai’s batting-heavy side is likely to prefer chasing, as Tom Moody said in the video preview, but will the weather have a say in Titans’ decision? Find out as we build up to the action with me, Ekanth, and my co-commentator, Deivarayan Muthu. Welcome aboard.
