Rain in Kolkata delays IPL match

KOLKATA: Kolkata Knight Riders' home fixture against Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament has been delayed because of heavy thundershowers.

The entire ground remains covered and under water as high intensity rain accompanied by thunderstorm continues unabated two hours before the scheduled start of play.

Many spectators were seen drenched and were stranded outside the stadium, while a few lucky ones could get inside as the gates opened at 2pm.

There's no abatement in rain intensity even as there's still some hope for the match to begin as a minimum of five-overs-a-side is allowed as per the rules.

The onus would now lie with the Eden Gardens groundsmen and the much criticised drainage system to clear up the water for the match to happen.

There'll be an official inspection after the rain subsides.

The scene was pretty similar yesterday too as rains poured in for more than three hours around the same time denying the home team a match-eve practice as they had to content with the indoor facility.

The local Met office has blamed it on a cyclonic circulation over Jharkhand and adjoining South Bengal.

KKR's last outing in Visakhapatnam too was affected by rain as they were done in by SunRisers Hyderabad by 16 runs via Duckworth-Lewis method.