Gujarat out of IPL play-off race after washout
AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Titans have been knocked out of the play-off race after rain forced their IPL match against Kolkata Knight Riders to be abandoned without a ball bowled in Ahmedabad on Monday.
The two teams took one point each, confirming a top-two finish for table-toppers Kolkata, who remain the only side to have already qualified for the next stage.
The last times Kolkata ended in the top two in the league stage, they went on to win the tournament in 2012 and 2014.
The top four teams will make the play-offs, but the first and second-placed sides have the advantage of two chances to qualify for the final on May 26 in Chennai.
The unseasonal rain in Ahmedabad left thousands of fans disappointed at the world’s biggest cricket stadium.
Rain was unrelenting for close to five hours as the two captains eventually shook hands without even going for the toss.
Shubman Gill-led Gujarat, who won the IPL in their debut season in 2022 under Hardik Pandya, joined Mumbai Indians and bottomplaced Punjab Kings to be out of the title race.
Kolkata, led by Shreyas Iyer, have been the team to beat in this edition with 10 wins and 19 points in 13 matches to stay ahead of secondplaced Rajasthan Royals.
The next goal for KKR will be to end the league stage as the top team, something they have never done before. They would receive that if they beat Rajasthan Royals in their last league encounter on Sunday.
Meanwhile, England batsman Liam Livingstone has left the Indian Premier League early to get his knee “sorted” ahead of the T20 World Cup in June, the Punjab Kings player said.
Livingstone, 30, played just seven of 12 matches for Punjab and struggled to make an impact, who have been knocked out of the play-off race for this season.
He made 111 runs at 22.20 in seven innings, striking at 142.30, and took three wickets in 12 overs.
Livingstone, who has been named in England’s provisional squad for the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the United States, missed two matches early this IPL after he went down on the field.
He later did not make the playing XI but returned to the starting line-up last week.
“IPL done for another year, had to get my knee sorted for the upcoming World Cup,” Livingstone wrote on social media.
“Thanks once again to the Punjab Kings fans for all their love and support. Disappointing season as a team and personally, but as always I loved every minute of playing in the IPL.”
According to Espncricinfo, Livingstone’s injury is not serious but requires rest before England play Pakistan in four T20 internationals this month.
Livingstone managed just 11 runs with a highest of 38 not out and returned three wickets with his spin bowling.
Other World Cup-bound England players including Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler, Will Jacks, Phil Salt and Reece Topley will begin to return home in the next few days.