IPL final moved to reserved day due to persistent rains

Covers placed on the pitch due to rain before the IPL 2023 final match between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans, in Ahmedabad on May 28, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The final of the Indian Premier League 2023 was on Sunday moved to the reserved day after relentless rains delayed the toss and subsequently the start of the summit showdown here.

The announcement was made at 10:55 p.m. local time.

The title clash between Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings, thus, will be played here at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Monday.

With the weather forecast not being too promising for the final on Sunday, it only kept getting worse for the fans who had turned up to pack the house.

It began raining here in the evening half an hour before the toss time – around 6:30 p.m. local time – and did not stop for longer durations at least for the next two-and-a-half hours.

The rain, however, did stop after 9:00 p.m. local time and the covers were taken off, with two super sopper already in action from around 8:30 p.m. IST.

However, heavy spell of rain returned to force the ground staff to cover the field again and players off the pitch, who had started warming up.

There were some serious puddles on the covers and exposed parts of the outfield, which would have taken the groundstaff more than a hour to clear, provided the rain had stopped.

As per the rules, the IPL final will have a reserve day — Monday, May 29 in this year’s case — in case the match is not able to start by 12:06am cut-off time, in which case there will be a five-overs per-side contest.

There are no such predictions of rain here on Monday, which means that there is full possibility of a 20-20 over match.