Bangalore, Apr 19 : The fourth edition of the Indian Premier League witnessed its first washout today with the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here being called off without a ball being bowled because of incessant rains.
The washout means both Rajasthan and RCB will share a point each from the encounter.
For RCB, the washout came as a frustrating result as the one point did very little to help their cause. The Daniel Vettori-led side is now languishing at the second last position in the team standings with only three points from five matches.
However, the one point took Rajasthan's tally to five from as many matches and they now rose to the second position in the standings behind Kolkata Knight Riders.
The match was originally scheduled to start at 8.00 pm, but was delayed due to steady downpour.
The on-field umpires, Rudi Koertzen and Billy Doctrove conducted two inspections—first at 9.45 pm and then an hour later—before finally calling off the match.
However, after the first inspection the umpires were hopeful of a 12-overs-a-side game following a slight lull in the drizzle.
But no sooner expectations rose among fans about a possible rain-curtailed thriller, the drizzle came back to haunt, forcing the groundsmen to bring on the covers.
With the drizzle showing no signs of relenting the umpires finally decided to call off the match after their second inspection at around 10.45 pm.
Rajasthan will now face Kings XI Punjab in Mohali on Thursday while RCB will be up against table toppers Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. PTI
