RR vs KKR Highlights, IPL 2024: Match called-off due to rain

Right then, we have had 70 group games in the 2024 Indian T20 League and now the caravan heads to Ahmedabad for the first two playoff games. Also, a good gesture from the Rajasthan players as they come out to applaud the crowd by taking a lap of the ground and the crowd certainly deserves that. Anyway, first up, it will be Kolkata taking on Hyderabad on Tuesday, 21 May in Qualifier 1 and the stakes will be very high as the winner will get a direct entry into the Grand Finale whereas the loser will have to play another game. That game will begin at 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT) but as usual, you can join us a lot sooner for the build-up. Till then, take care and goodbye!

The rain has played spoilsport, once again, leaving the match abandoned. It's a disappointing conclusion to the final game of the group stages, but such is the unpredictability of the weather. Rajasthan find themselves in a sombre state, forced to settle for a solitary point, which leaves them at the third spot on the points table. Their slightly lower net run rate compared to Hyderabad, who clinched victory earlier this evening, pushes them down the ladder. With four consecutive losses in their recent games and now this washout, Rajasthan's confidence might take a hit as they now gear for the Eliminator where they face Bengaluru, a team riding a wave of red-hot form with six consecutive wins under their belt. Conversely, Kolkata's luck too has taken a similar turn with two consecutive games falling victim to the bad weather. Nevertheless, they remain a side brimming with confidence and will now focus on the highly-anticipated clash against Hyderabad in Qualifier 1, promising an electrifying showdown for fans.

UPDATE 10.50 pm IST (5.20 pm GMT) - The dreadful news we were hoping to avoid is here. The umpires have a prolonged chat with the officials and the conversation ends with the umpires shaking hands with the ground staff. Sanju Samson is out in the middle followed by Shreyas Iyer and the umpires convey the news to both skippers who shake hands. THE MATCH HAS BEEN ABANDONED! Spare a thought for the ground staff who did a remarkable job of getting the ground ready but it just wasn't meant to be and we do now know that Kolkata will be facing Hyderabad who snatched 2nd place from Rajasthan due to a better net run rate in Qualifier 1 whereas Rajasthan will have to face a resurgent Bengaluru side in the Eliminator game.

UPDATE 10.39 pm IST (5.09 pm GMT) - Uh, oh! The rain is back out of nowhere! What a shame for everyone involved and it looks like rain will have the telling say in this game after all. The covers are coming back on and it is now heavy rain by any means but the damage was already done early on. Well, a few minutes later and it is definitely getting heavier now and we should have the official word soon.

Impact Players nominated by Kolkata - Vaibhav Arora, Manish Pandey, Nitish Rana, KS Bharat, Sherfane Rutherford.

Kolkata (Playing XI) - Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (C), Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy. 

Impact Players nominated by Rajasthan - Shubham Dubey, Keshav Maharaj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Sen, Donovan Ferreira.

Rajasthan (Playing XI) - Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Sanju Samson (C/WK), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Rovman Powell, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Sandeep Sharma, Avesh Khan, Nandre Burger. 

The Rajasthan skipper, Sanju Samson says they would have liked to bowl first as well and informs that the pitch this time has more moisture. Ends by saying that they might have a last minute change with Nandre Burger coming in.

Shreyas Iyer, the skipper of Kolkata says they will bowl first since it is now a 7-over game and they don't know how the pitch will play. Concludes that Anukul Roy plays this game.

TOSS - Kolkata win the toss and Shreyas Iyer decides to BOWL first and informs right away that it is a 7 overs-a-side game. Official news is that it will start at 10.45 pm IST (5.15 pm GMT).