Heavy rain and thunderstorms in Ahmedabad on Sunday forced the Indian Premier League final between holders Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings into a reserve day for the first time in the history of the competition. Fans had flocked to the venue to see the legendary MS Dhoni in action, possibly for the last time. But rain played a spoilsport, no delivery was possible. As chatter about the faded fixture flooded social media, one fan blamed actress Shraddha Kapoor for the rain at the venue.
Shraddha, who was part of the Jio Cinema panel for the IPL 2023 final, even took to Instagram and shared the fan’s comments. Honestly, she thought the fans’ take was really funny.
The rain started 35 minutes before the coin toss and lasted for over two hours and 40 minutes before stopping and raising hopes that the match would start in the world’s largest cricket stadium.
But a second downpour washed out the day, leaving thousands of fans who had sought refuge in the covered areas of the 132,000-seat stadium disappointed.
The ground was a sad damp sight as officials called off play for the day and a message on the giant screen, for fans, read: “Please keep your physical tickets!”.
The action kicks off on Monday with an IPL final heading into a reserve day for the first time in its 16-year history.
The western city’s weather department also predicts a small (10 percent) chance of rain in the evening for Monday.
The match is believed to have been Chennai skipper MS Dhoni’s last game as a player and the fans turned up in droves wearing the superstar cricketer’s yellow jersey.
Chennai will aim for a record-tying fifth title to tie with IPL powerhouse Mumbai Indians, led by all-format India captain Rohit Sharma.
Dhoni has led his team to their 10th IPL final, including four trophies and five runners-up finishes.
Gujarat captained by Hardik Pandya have extended their fairytale journey which started last year with a title win in their debut season at the same venue.
The T20 competition, which started in 2008, has become the world’s richest cricket tournament and a huge source of revenue for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
With AFP inputs
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