18 May,2025 09:07 AM IST | Bengaluru | R Kaushik
A groundman carrying an umbrella walks across the field at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday. Pic/AFP
Kolkata Knight Riders' designs of a late dash towards the Playoffs of IPL 2025 were emphatically dashed as the elements had the final say at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, forcing their penultimate league clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru to be abandoned with a ball being bowled.
The defending champions needed to win their last two matches and hope for other results to go their way, but the no-show means they have 12 points from 13 outings and can finish with a maximum of 14 points, which won't be sufficient for them to make it to the next stage.
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The one point from this washout boosted the home side's chances, taking them to the top of the table with 17 points from 12 matches. A sizeable crowd, majority of them sporting white jerseys with No. 18 emblazoned at the back as a tribute to Virat Kohli, recently retired from Test cricket, walked away disappointed at not being able to see their hero in action, though they will get another chance on May 23 when RCB host Sunrisers Hyderabad in their final home league encounter.
Phase II of the tournament thus got off to an inauspicious start, the abandonment that had loomed all evening once the heavens opened up at 5.50 pm officially formalised at 10:23 pm.
