Brief scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 200-7 in 20 overs (AB de Villiers 57, Sarfaraz Khan 45 not out; Tim Southee 2-32; Stuart Binny 1-32); Match abandoned before Rajasthan Royals could bat.
Persistent pre-monsoon showers that started during the innings break forced the abandonment of the game between hosts Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League yesterday.
The rains commenced soon after RCB completed their innings on 200 for seven. The umpires, Johan Cloete and Paschim Pathak, waited until close to midnight before calling off the match.
As such, the teams picked up one point each. While Rajasthan Royals joined Chennai Super Kings at the top of the table with 12 points but placed second on net run rate, RCB tied with Kolkata Knight Riders, whom they host Saturday, on seven.
RCB, with a superior run rate, moved to third ahead of KKR. Earlier, AB de Villiers (57 in 45 balls) and Sarfaraz Khan (45 not out in 21 balls) helped RCB post 200 runs, with 70 being scored in the last five overs. South African De Villiers and Khan, 17, batted in contrasting styles but to great effect as RCB recovered from the early exits of in-form openers Chris Gayle and captain Virat Kohli, both falling to Tim Southee.
Fixtures
Thursday
○ Chennai Super Kings v Kolkata Knight Riders, 6.30pm
Friday
○ Delhi Daredevils v Kings XI Punjab, 2.30pm
○ Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals, 6.30pm
Saturday
○ Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders, 2.30pm
○ Sunrisers Hyderabad v Chennai Super Kings, 6.30pm
Sunday
○ Kings XI Punjab v Mumbai Indians, 2.30pm
○ Rajasthan Royals v Delhi Daredevils, 6.30pm
Stats
Top batsmen
○ Ajinkya Rahane, Rajasthan, 323
○ David Warner, Hyderabad, 317
○ Dwayne Smith, Chennai, 253
○ Brendon McCullum, Chennai, 251
○ Rohit Sharma, Mumbai, 244
○ AB de Villiers, Bangalore, 233
Top bowlers
○ Ashish Nehra, Chennai, 13
○ Imran Tahir, Delhi, 13
○ Dwayne Bravo, Chennai, 11
○ Yuzvendra Chahal, Bangalore, 10
○ Lasith Malinga, Mumbai, 10
○ Anureet Singh, Punjab, 10
Highest scores
○ Brendon McCullum, Chennai, 100*
○ Rohit Sharma, Mumbai, 98*
○ Chris Gayle, Bangalore, 96
○ David Warner, Hyderabad, 91
○ Shreyas Iyer, Delhi, 83
* denotes ‘not out’