File photo of Mumbai Indians© BCCI/IPL
Inclement weather in Mumbai on Wednesday may impact the vital Indian Premier League clash between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals, the two teams left in contention for the fourth playoff spot. The outcome of the contest could decide the fourth team in the knockout with Gujarat Titans, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings being the other three. A win for MI will take them into the knockouts and lock the four playoff teams while a win for the fifth-ranked DC will keep their hopes alive, making their final league round clash against PBKS on May 24 a knockout game.
The India Meteorological Department on Tuesday evening issued a forecast and warning for “thunderstorm accompanied with lightning, heavy rainfall and gutsy winds (50-60) at isolated places” for Mumbai and some adjoining areas.
Meanwhile, steady rainfall forced an early conclusion to the training session for both Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals at the Wankhede Stadium.
While the two teams were slated to train from 6:00pm to 9:00pm local time, they were forced to call off their practice much earlier and the centre square along with fast bowlers’ run-up areas were covered and floodlights turned off by 8:30pm.
Mumbai Indians were the first team to leave the field while Delhi players stayed back doing light training but were eventually forced to call it off.
Considering the weather, the IPL had earlier announced an additional hour of play to be added to match timing from Tuesday, including the league stage which could mean that the matches may finish much later in the night.
“Similar to the playoffs stage, an additional one hour will be allocated to the playing conditions for the remaining matches of the league stage, starting Tuesday, 20th May,” the IPL said.
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