The teams get one point each, so the Royals get top spot without doing anything.
So, um... bye.
Match abandoned
That was good, wasn’t it?
No official confirmation, but the players have shaken hands and walked off. As a professional cricket journalist, my expertise allows me to exclusively reveal this probably means the game is off.
Ooh hello. There are rumours circulating now that the players are warming up. I can’t see, because it’s imperative that Sky don’t interrupt the highlights of some old game or other that they’re showing.
They’re having another inspection. There’s very little chance of this match going ahead, if rumours are to be believed. I don’t know if rumours are to be believed.
For the record, if this is abandoned there is no reserve day and the teams would get one point each.
If no play is possible today at the Eden Gardens, would mean #RR take the lead in the points table atleast until 28th.. #KKRvRR #IPL
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) April 26, 2015
There’s still a lot of water around the boundary. This means... another inspection! At 2.15pm BST.
I would much rather watch whatever the hell this is:
Either the IPL has got far more crazy or Sky Sports have got their graphics wrong…#IPL #KKRvRR #KKR #RR pic.twitter.com/Tjci1Wz3YY
— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) April 26, 2015
There will be another inspection at 6:30 PM. There's plenty of water still around, cut-off time for a 5 over match is 7:30 PM #IPL #KKRvRR
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) April 26, 2015
That’s 2pm, UK time, for the inspection.
Another inspection in half an hour. Sigh.
Fascinated by reports from India suggesting cricket's Champions League may be scrapped. A tournament never really embraced in England.
— richard hobson (@richardjhobson) April 26, 2015
The umpires are carrying out there inspection. It’s stopped raining but there are still some covers on and there’s a fair bit of standing water around.
Alastair Cook might as well start writing his victory speech now.
Finally, definitive proof that James Anderson is a better bowler than Mitchell Johnson. We can end the debate now pic.twitter.com/RtvguWw17s
— Peter Miller (@TheCricketGeek) April 26, 2015
There will be a pitch inspection in 10 minutes. We officially won’t get a full 40 overs now.
The covers are coming off! Well, some of them are anyway. By my reckoning we start losing overs in about 10 minutes. 7.20pm local time is the cut off for us to get any kind of game – five overs per side is the shortest they can go down to – which is, um... 2.50pm London time, I think. That would be annoying, as I’m covering another match 40 minutes after that.
It’s pouring it down again. Bah!
The rain briefly abates.
Updated
In about half an hour we start losing overs. I imagine that will happen, says your meteorologist Lucas.
In fact, the rain looks to have eased off a wee bit. No news on a toss or start time yet though. The covers are still on.
Update!
#cricket #ipl super sopper in. ground staff working......
— logical (@logicalbet) April 26, 2015
We might get a F5, or five-over-a-side shoot-out, if we’re lucky.
According to the weather forecast, the rain should stop by about 5.30-6pm local time. That’s about two hours away. These updates will be sporadic – the entire playing surface is under the covers.
Preamble
Morning folks. Ready for some imminent IPL action? Well don’t get your hopes up – it’s bucketing it down in Kolkata, apparently. When things do finally get underway though, it’s a pretty tasty match-up: the defending champs against the until-yesterday-anyway leaders.
There was a bit of a blow for the Knight Riders (the crime-solving riders) the other day, with Sunil Narine being suspended on account of a suspected dodgy action. That said, they might not miss his two wickets at 73.5, given that their strength so far has been the fast bowling. Plus Johan Botha is likely to come in and he has the best economy rate of any of their bowlers: 6.5, albeit from just the one match.
The Royals, meanwhile, are looking to bounce back after a surprise stuffing at the hands of RCB in the last match. Their batting was pretty atrocious then as they got bogged down in the manner of Alastair Cook facing a not-even-part-timer’s slow, wide long hops with nine wickets in hand and 15 or so runs needed (sorry, still annoyed). They’ll want to win, because obviously they want to win or why would they be here? Also it could lift them back to the top of the points table.
Toss and team news as and when. Play begins at 11.30am BST or 4pm local time. Or at least it’s supposed to; it won’t given that the ground is pretty well underwater right now.
Here is some nice music.
