The wait to witness the crowning of the the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 champion continues as the final set to be played between the Gujarat Titans (GT) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will now be played on the reserve day after rain made no play possible at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. The match was scheduled to commence at 07:30 pm (IST) with the toss slated to happen at 07:00 pm (IST). However, a little before the toss rain started to pour in which meant a delay in the toss.
For a brief while in the middle, rain completely stopped and the umpires even went to have an inspection. But just when toss was expected to happen shortly, the rain returned, forcing the groundsment to put the covers back on. On-field umpire Nitin Menon later told broadcasters that the groundsmen need at least 60 minutes to get the ground ready for a game after the rain stops which meant that once the rain did not stop till around 11:00 pm (IST), the match had to be moved to a reserve day. The cut off time for a five-over face-off between the two teams was 12:06 am (IST).
In some sense, this could be a decision in the best interest of the game as weather forecast predicts less chances of rain on Monday. Moreover, there is the possibility of having a full game on the reserve day than a shorter fixture to decide what has been an incredibly competitive tournament. Having said that, the forecast for Sunday (May 28) on Saturday (May 27) had also not predicted conditions like this.
GT and CSK will now return for the match on Monday. In case, no play is possible even on May 29, GT will be crowned as the IPL champions as they had finished the league stage as the table toppers.