SRH qualify for playoffs as Gujarat Titans bow out with twin washouts following bad weather in Hyderabad
It seems as if the lavender jersey was attracting rain wherever Gujarat Titans were going, whether it was in Ahmedabad earlier or now in Hyderabad. Their last two games have turned out to be a damp squib with rain relenting. On Thursday, the washout meant Sunrisers Hyderabad sealed the playoff spot.
After three years of languishing in the bottom half of the table, Sunrisers Hyderabad have qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2020 in the ongoing season of the IPL. It was a pity, it came with an abandoned game in Hyderabad where the Orange Army had taken the onus upon itself to entertain the crowd this year with huge scores becoming a norm. The incessant rain relented in the end in Hyderabad on Thursday, May 16 as the Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans shared a point each with the latter bowing out of the tournament with two successive washouts.
There was a thunderstorm in the afternoon in Hyderabad from around 3:30 PM to about 5 in the evening after which the groundsmen were into their work till about 6:30-6:45 PM before the drizzle arrived again. It was just for a short while before everything was cleared and the match was supposed to begin at 8:15. But the drizzle came back a few minutes before the toss and it all went down the dumps.
Drizzle, steady rain and heavy rain - that was the only thing that happened in the next couple of hours before the umpires decided to call it off and both the captains shook hands.
Sunrisers Hyderabad have 15 points in their kitty with one match to go and have a good chance to finish in the top two. However, the result has also been beneficial for both the Rajasthan Royals and the Chennai Super Kings as they both will have a shot to clinch the second spot as do SRH, with all three having a game left in the league stage.
Gujarat Titans, however, after winning in 2022 and losing the final last year, will finish at the 8th spot, if not the 9th, unless Punjab Kings beat SRH in their final game.