Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals are gearing up to lock horns against each other in the first Qualifier of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals have finished in the top two of the points table to book their place in the IPL 2022 playoffs.
The winner of the first Qualifier will enter the final while the losing team will get another shot at the final. The losing team will play against the winner of the Eliminator between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore for a place in the final.
Gujarat Titans finished the season at the top of the points table. Playing their first-ever season, the Gujarat-based franchise finished the league stage with an impressive 10 wins from 14 games.
On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals finished at the second spot after winning 9 of their 14 league games. This is the first time since 2008 that the Royals have managed to finish the league stage in the top two.
Rain threat looms large over IPL Playoffs 2022:
The much-anticipated clash between Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals is scheduled to be played at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. However, the game could be marred by rain.
Kolkata has been experiencing rain and thunderstorms for the past couple of days and there is a possibility of rain playing spoilsport on Tuesday (May 24).
According to a report in AccuWeather, Kolkata is likely to witness a couple of sessions of thunderstorms on Tuesday. The first session is likely to take place at noon while the second session is set to happen in the evening. There is around a 65% chance of rain.
What if the match is washed out:
With the rain threat looming over the game, there is a possibility that the upcoming game might get washed out. There are also no reserve day for the playoffs. In such a scenario, the IPL governing council has already set the rules to find out the winner.
As per the guidelines, a Super Over will decide the result if any of the IPL playoff matches – including the final – is disrupted by the weather and no play is possible in regulation time. In another scenario, if the ground conditions continue to remain unplayable, then the league standings will be used to identify the winners.
“The number of overs in the playoff match may, if necessary, be reduced so that each side has the opportunity to bat for five overs. For the Eliminator and each Qualifier playoff matches, if it is not possible to schedule a five-over match to complete by the end of the extra time on an original day, the teams will, if conditions permit, play a Super Over to determine the winner of the relevant Eliminator or Qualifier match,” stated the IPL guideline.
“If the Super Over is not possible the team that finished highest in the league table after the 70 matches of the regular season shall be declared the winner of the relevant play-off match or final,” the guideline added.