Team Bangalore, led by Indian skipper Virat Kohli, became the first team to knock out of the ongoing 2019 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after their clash against Rajasthan was called off due to rain at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Tuesday.
The draw saw both sides get one point each, with Rajasthan climbing up to the fifth spot in the eight-team point table with five wins from 13 games. The Steve Smith-led side still have a chance of making into the playoffs.
After incessant rain delayed the start of the play for almost three and a half hour, the match was finally resumed at 11.26 pm (local time) with five overs per side.
Asked to bat first, Bangalore were restricted to a score of 62 for seven in their stipulated five overs despite a good start by skipper Virat Kohli and swashbuckling batsman AB de Villiers.
However, Kohli and de Villiers failed to convert a good start into big scores and were removed by Shreyas Gopal for 25 and 10, respectively on successive deliveries.
The Rajasthan bowler then completed his hat-trick by removing Marcus Stoinis for a duck on the very next ball.
Besides Gopal, Oshane Thomas bagged two wickets while Riyan Parag and Jaydev Unadkat also chipped in with a wicket each.
In reply, Sanju Samson (28) and Liam Livingstone (11) almost helped Rajasthan crossed the mark, reducing the chase to 22 runs from 11 balls before rain once again played the spoilsport and abandoned the match.
The next clash of the IPL will take place between table-toppers Delhi and second-placed Chennai, led by former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni at MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday. However, the two teams have already qualified for the IPL playoffs.
Let us take a look at how the eight teams are placed in the standings ahead of the clash:
| Team | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delhi | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | +0.233 |
| Chennai | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | -0.113 |
| Mumbai | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 14 | +0.347 |
| Hyderabad | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 12 | +0.709 |
| Rajasthan | 13 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 11 | -0.321 |
| Kolkata | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 | +0.100 |
| Punjab | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 | -0.296 |
| Bangalore | 13 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 9 | -0.694 |
Orange Cap:
Australian opener David Warner, who played his last match for Hyderabad against Punjab on Monday before heading home to join his national side in their preparation for the upcoming 2019 ICC World Cup, continues to stand at the top of the run-scoring chart with a total of 692 runs from twelve matches he played at an average of 69.20 and a strike rate of 143.86.
Punjab opener KL Rahul is standing at the second spot in the Orange Cap table after amassing 520 runs from 12 innings at strike rate of 131.64 and at an average of 57.77.
West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell and Delhi opener Shikhar Dhawan are standing at the fourth and fifth positions with a total of 486 and 451 runs from 11 and 12 innings, respectively.
Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli broke into the top-five list after scoring 25 runs in the clash against Rajasthan. He is now standing with 448 runs from 13 innings at a strike rate of 139.56
Purple Cap:
South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada is comfortable standing at the numero-uno spot in the list of highest wicket-takers in the 2019 edition of the IPL after bagging a total of 25 wickets from 12 matches he has played so far for Team Delhi at an economy rate of 7.82.
Shreyas Gopal of Rajasthan has climbed up to the second spot in the Purple Cap table after taking a hat-trick-- Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Marcus Stoinis--during the rain-hit clash against Bangalore. He now has 18 wickets from 13 innings he has played at an economy rate of 7.40.
Gopal has replaced Chennai spinner Imran Tahir, who is now placed at the third position with 17 wickets from 12 innings.
Bangalore's Yuzvendra Chahal has dropped to the fourth spot in the highest wicket-takers list. He has bagged a total of 16 wickets from 12 innings.
Chahal is closely being followed by Punjab's Mohammad Shami, who completes the top-five in the Purple Cap table with 16 wickets from 12 matches but lacks behind in economy rate.
