IPL 2023 Qualifier 2, Final: Rain in Ahmedabad; here are rules for rain-hit matches

As Gujarat Titans (GT) and Mumbai Indians (MI) prepare to face off in the IPL 2023 Qualifier 2 on Friday (May 26), there was rain at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, and the coin toss was delayed.

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The match is scheduled to start at 7:30 PM IST. However, due to rain, the contest may not commence on time.

If there is no result in MI vs GT Qualifier 2, then GT will progress to the final to face Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as the Hardik Pandya-led side had finished higher than MI in the league phase. GT were first in the points table while MI were fourth.

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What will happen if rain or other weather conditions disrupt the playoff matches including the final?

Here is your guide on rain rules/guidelines for IPL 2023 playoffs. These are the playing conditions released by IPL.

1. Extra time of 120 minutes is available for each playoff match.

2. A playoff match can start on the original day as late as 9.40 pm without the number of overs being reduced (10-minute interval, time-outs retained). The final match can start on the original day as late as 10.10 pm without the number of overs being reduced (10-minute interval, time-outs retained).

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3. A reserve day is available for the final on 29 May at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. An additional 120 minutes of extra time is available on the reserve day.

4. The number of overs in the playoff match may, if necessary, be reduced so that each side has the opportunity to bat for 5 overs.

5. The latest that a five overs per side match can start is 11.56 pm (10-minute interval, no timeouts) – with a scheduled finish of 12.50 am. The cut-off time for the Final will be 12.26 am for 5 overs per side game.

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6. If the final has started (at least one ball bowled) but is not finished on the original day, it will be completed on the reserve day. The match will resume at the point where it stopped on the previous day. For the avoidance of doubt, any match recalculations done without the match actually restarting on the previous night will be ignored. (3 hours and 20 minutes plus a further extra time of 2 hours are available for play on the reserve day).

7. For the Eliminator and each Qualifier playoff matches (where there is no reserve day), in the event that it is not possible to schedule a 5 over match to complete by the end of the extra time on the original day, the teams will, if conditions permit, play a Super Over (and if necessary further Super Overs) to determine the winner of the relevant Eliminator or Qualifier match. This means that the pitch and ground must be ready for play so that the Super Over can start at the latest by 12.50 am.

8. For the final, in the event that it is not possible to schedule a 5-over match to be completed by the end of the extra time on the reserve day, the teams will, if conditions permit, play a Super Over to determine the winner of the final. This means that the pitch and ground must be ready for play so that the Super Over can start at the latest by 1.20 am (final).

9. In the event that it is not possible to start the Super Over or to then complete the Super Over without interruption, 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 playoff match or final.

10. Examples for continuing the game on reserve day: The final starts and after 4 overs of the first innings, rain prevents any further play that night → the match restarts on 29 May with (if conditions allow) the first innings being completed (16 overs) and the full second innings of 20 overs. After the toss for the final, no play is possible that night – a new 20 overs per side match starts on 29 May. There will be another toss and a new team can be selected.

What is Super Over?

A Super Over involves each team facing an over of six balls, and the winner shall be the team scoring the greater number of runs, irrespective of the number of wickets lost.

The loss of two wickets in the over ends the team’s one-over innings.

Tied Super Over – Repeating the Super Over procedure

• If the Super Over is tied, then subsequent Super Over will be played until there is a winner.
• In normal circumstances any subsequent Super Over will start 5 minutes after the previous Super Over ends.
• The team batting second in the previous Super Over will bat first in the subsequent Super Over.
• The balls selected for use by each team in the previous Super Over shall be used again by the same team in subsequent Super Over(s).
• The fielding side must bowl its over in a subsequent Super Over from the opposite end to which it bowled from in the previous Super Over.
• Any batter dismissed in any previous Super Over shall be ineligible to bat in the following Super Over.
• Any bowler who bowled in the previous Super Over shall be ineligible to bowl in the subsequent Super Over.
• In all other ways, the procedure for a subsequent Super Over shall be the same as for the initial Super Over.