"Look forward to a full house tomorrow" - GT skipper Hardik Pandya reacts after rain shifts IPL 2023 final vs CSK to reserve day
Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper Hardik Pandya is hopeful of seeing a full house after the IPL 2023 final against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) was shifted to the reserve day. The match scheduled at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will now be played on Monday, May 29.
The final of IPL 2023 was set to be played on Sunday only for a heavy downpour to force the match officials to call it off and activate the reserve day. Pandya then took to Twitter expressing that it was unfortunate that there was no action on Sunday.
He is hopeful of full attendance on Monday, with the contest scheduled to start at the usual time of 7.30 PM IST.
Pandya tweeted:
"Unfortunately, the match could not take place today but look forward to a full house tomorrow. See you then!"
Unfortunately, the match could not take place today but look forward to a full house tomorrow. See you then!
GT will be declared IPL 2023 winners if reserve day is also washed out
With the rain having stopped and the covers coming off at the Narendra Modi Stadium, there was hope for some sort of a contest on Sunday. The cutoff time for a full game was deemed to be 9:35 pm before overs would be deducted.
However, another downpour followed. Despite the rain seemingly relenting on the odd occasion, it never stopped long enough to deem play possible, with 12:05 AM the cutoff time for a five-over affair. Umpires Rod Tucker and Nitin Menon confirmed to broadcaster Simon Doull that the ground staff would have required an hour to get the ground ready for action.
Eventually, the decision was made to enter the reserve day. There is provision for a Super Over between GT and CSK in place should there not be any play yet again due to a weather interruption. In the worst case that even that isn't possible, the Pandya-led GT will be adjudged the winners of IPL 2023. This is due to the Pandya-led side topping the league phase, with CSK having come second.
A message on the big screen at the ground mentioned that fans can use the same physical tickets they had for Sunday, on the reserve day as well.
Do you think we will get to see a full game between CSK and GT on the reserve day of the IPL 2023 final? Have your say in the comments section below!
Also read: 5 great players who never played an IPL final