GUWAHATI : The final league stage match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Guwahati was called off due to rain on Sunday, with both teams getting one point each.
With one more point in their kitty, KKR remains at the top with nine wins, three losses and two no results. They have a total of 20 points. RR is at the third spot, with eight wins, five losses and one no result. They have a total of 17 points.
With this, the playoff match-ups have been decided as well. KKR will take on second-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad in the first qualifier at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on May 21.
SRH reached the second spot following a win over Punjab Kings on Sunday.
PBKS won the toss and elected to bat first. A hard-hitting half-century from Prabhsimran Singh (71 in 45 balls, with seven fours and four sixes) and knocks from Rilee Rossouw (49 in 24 balls, with three fours and four sixes) and Atharva Taide (46 in 27 balls, with five fours and two sixes) set the tone for a big total, taking PBKS to 214/5 in their 20 overs.
T Natarajan (2/33) was the pick of the bowlers for SRH.
In the run-chase, after losing Travis Head for a duck, Abhishek Sharma (66 in 28 balls, with five fours and six sixes), Nitish Kumar Reddy (37 in 25 balls, with a four and three sixes) and Heinrich Klaasen (42 in 26 balls, with three fours and two sixes) played fiery knocks to propel SRH to 215/6 in 19.1 overs, winning the game with five balls left.
Arshdeep Singh (2/37) was the pick of the bowlers for PBKS.
Abhishek Sharma was the Player of the Match for his quickfire fifty.
SRH is at number two in the points table, with eight wins, five losses and a no result, with 17 points. PBKS is in the ninth spot with five wins, nine losses and 10 points.
In the other match, the eliminator on May 22 at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, it will be a battle of the Royals’ as RR will be taking on fourth-place Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Four successive losses and this washout have hurt Rajasthan, as they not only will head into the eliminator with a lack of momentum, but will also be up against a super-charged RCB side. And if RR loses the eliminator match, they would not get a second shot at the title in Qualifier 2 on May 24 at Chennai’s Chepauk Stadium, which will be played between the loser of qualifier one and the winner of the eliminator. The final will take place on May 26 in Chennai.
RCB secured a 27-run win in a thrilling match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Bengaluru on Saturday to get the fourth and final playoff spot. While defending 219 runs, they restricted CSK to 191/7, 10 runs less than the score of 201 runs that CSK was supposed to make to qualify for the playoffs, irrespective of the result. RCB is at the fourth spot with seven wins, seven losses and 14 points. After a horrid start to the tournament with just one win in eight games, RCB won six successive games to reach the final four. (ANI)
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