MI vs RR, 7th match at Durban, IPL, Apr 21 2009 - Ball by Ball Commentary
That's sad, but here's hoping for some better weather tomorrow in Cape Town where Deccan Chargers take on Bangalore Royal Challengers. Thanks for your patience, and your feedback. Don't forget to tune in tomorrow. Until then, it's goodbye from Siddhartha Talya signing off from tonight's non-event. Chin up! Adios!
7.01 pm: The match has been called off. This is an atrocious piece of news, folks. The umpires have had a look, and decided there was no possibility of a game happening. There was a decent enough crowd that waited patiently, hoping for some play, even a five-over match, but they'll return home disappointed. Both teams share a point. This isn't the first IPL game to be abandoned without a ball being bowled. Check this out.
Gautham: "Why are we kidding ourselves about this... T20 is more about entertainment than cricket. To exaggerate, IPL is like the WWE wrestling than Olympic Wrestling. So strategic break or not, its about getting money to entertain better. Its like one of the action movies - get in more money to make a movie with a bigger bangs ! So IPL, break-away - more strategic breaks to you !!"
6.44 pm: Some encouraging news, now. The rain has stopped. But it could still be a while before we see some play. Remember, the umpires will have a look at 7.15 pm, and if they feel then that there is no chance of the game happening, they can call it off. If they retain some hope, then they have until 7.55.
6.37 pm: The rain has lightened down but the people are still under their umbrellas. One must laud them for their patience. No sign of play yet. Remember, the umpires will have a look in around 40 minutes to see how long this match can continue. If the game does start at the cut-off time, it will be a five-over fixture, so say the people on TV. Wow!
6.10 pm: We have an update, and not a good one. It's still raining in Durban. The cut-off time has been extended to 7.55 pm local time, and the umpires will have a look at 7.15 pm to determine the fate of this match.
5.53 pm: Terrible news. It's started raining again, and the covers are back on. So wait on. The umbrellas are out. It's a drizzle - it started just as the umpires walked out in the middle for an inspection. One of the super-soppers, apparently, has broken down. So, bad news all around.
Mark: "No one's fooled into thinking a "strategy break" is for discussing strategy, so wouldn't it be great if the ads scheduled for the "strategy break" were shown during rain delays? That way the rain delays wouldn't eat into the overs until the strategy time were done. In a perfect world, that is..."
Check these out while we wait for more updates. Tishani Doshi speaks up in defence of cheerleaders. Amuse yourself with Andy Zaltzman's A to Z of the IPL.
5.34 pm: The umpires will decide at 6 pm local time about what the length of the game will be. So it seems they have had a look at the conditions. We're still waiting for the toss.
5.15 pm: The rain has stopped, the covers are off but still no news of the start time yet. The super-sopper is in action now.
5.07 pm: The cut-off start time for this game is 10.45 pm IST, which is 7.15 pm local time. The covers are still on, and there's the usual rant on TV during intervals. Stay put, and we'll get you the updates as soon as we have them.
4.58 pm: It's still raining in Durban, and the big cover's been brought on. What a dampener.
4.36 pm: Have you joined the IPL fantasy league yet? It's loads of fun. There are two versions of this for the IPL (Salary cap and Pick 'em). Check it out. Also, discuss this game with thousands of other cricket fans on Cricinfo's Facebook page.
4.18 pm: The rain appears to have stopped, but the covers are still on. The outfield is wet, and we may soon see the super-soppers in action. There's a while to go before the toss, so read the preview to the game as the groundstaff do their thing.
4.16 pm: Hello and welcome to Cricinfo's coverage of the seventh game of the IPL's second season with Mumbai Indians taking on Rajasthan Royals in Durban. Mumbai came up trumps against Chennai in the the opening game, winning a closely fought match by 19 runs. Rajasthan were humiliated, being skittled out for 58 by Bangalore the same day, but they performed poorly early on even last season and eventually won, so they can't be written off.
It's been an overcast day, and the first game was decided using the Duckworth-Lewis method with Kolkata emerging winners against Punjab. There is a lot to offer in this particular draw, with Sachin Tendulkar facing off against Shane Warne, but given the persistent rain, it may be a while before the game could get underway.
