Rain delays match between two Royals

A sudden downpour and intermittent rain since evening delayed the Indian Premier League match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals at the Chinnaswamy cricket stadium in Bangalore late today. Scorecard

A sudden downpour and intermittent rain since evening delayed the Indian Premier League match (IPL) between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Chinnaswamy cricket stadium in Bangalore on late Tuesday.

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"As it is still raining, the match will not start at the scheduled time (8pm). Match officials, including umpires will inspect the pitch and the outfield at 9pm if the drizzle stops and decided when to commence," a Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) official said.

With the sky overcast, the threat of unseasonal rain has been looming over the city since late evening and fears of the match getting delayed worsened as there has been no let-up.

"Match umpires -- Rudi Koertzen of South Africa and Billy Doctrove of West Indies --inspected the ground around 7:30 pm when the toss was to be taken up. As the pitch was still under covers and the outfield wet, they have deferred the start of the match," the official said.

According to the IPL rules, the rain-marred match has to start by 11:20 pm latest. If the match is washed out, both the teams will be awarded one point each.

Under the Duckworth Lewis (D/L) method, which is applied in a game disrupted by rain, both the teams can play a minimum of five overs for a result.