Right then, a contest that promised so much to begin with and even sprung up a surprise with SRH dominating DC, has ended up being a washout. There's plenty of action still to come in the 2025 IPL season, as teams vying for the top four spots go up against each other over the next couple of weeks. This run of fixtures kicks off with Mumbai Indians taking on Gujarat Titans at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday, 6 May, and that should be a mouth-watering clash. The game will begin at 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT), but you can join us a lot sooner for the build-up. Cheers!

Delhi Capitals, on the other hand, will be thanking the Gods as the rain intervention has guaranteed them a point which would have been very, very difficult to come by otherwise. They lost a wicket on the very first ball of the match and were 4 down inside the Powerplay. It still was more than a decent recovery thanks to the lower middle order and especially the Impact Sub, Ashutosh Sharma, who took them over the 130-run mark along with Tristan Stubbs. Mitchell Starc and co would have their work cut out with the ball, but it didn't matter as DC stay well and truly alive in the top four race.

What a shame! The Orange Army flocked to the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium to watch their team, and it was a packed house even after SRH's abysmal season thus far. And for once, SRH seemed all but certain of a win, and yet, rain had the final say. It was a stellar bowling performance from the Sunrisers led by Pat Cummins. He was the one who picked up the top 3 batters of DC inside the Powerplay and even pouched the catch for the 4th wicket. The SRH pacers continued to pick up wickets in the middle overs and managed to keep DC to an under-par score. SRH will now look to just let loose in the remaining games and spoil the party for a few other teams.

MATCH ABANDONED! Both teams get a point each and Sunrisers Hyderabad have been officially knocked out of the playoff race. Delhi Capitals stay 5th with 13 points, one point off the top 4 and the playoff race is really starting to heat up now.

UPDATE - 11.08 pm IST (5.38 pm GMT) - It has been about 20-25 minutes since the mop-up job began, but there are still plenty of areas of concern on the outfield. The two umpires are having a prolonged discussion with the ground staff as they don't want to risk any injuries, especially at this stage of the tournament. The broadcasters did mention that there will be an update in a few minutes' time, but the live visuals show the two skippers shaking hands. The thing everyone feared has happened!

UPDATE - 10.36 pm IST (5.06 pm GMT) - Live visuals from the ground show that the rain has stopped in Hyderabad! However, the ground has a lot of water on it and the umpires are having a conversation with the ground staff, who will now get working overtime. The Super-Sopper is also out and it is now a race against time to get the ground fit for play. Stay tuned.

UPDATE - 10.23 pm IST (4.53 pm GMT) - Not much of an update regarding the status of the game, but worst case scenario, a five-over chase can start by around 11.40-11.45 pm IST.  The main concern remains the condition of the playing field and there isn't any word of the rain completely stopping either thus far.

UPDATE - 10.05 pm IST (4.35 pm GMT) - The rain has subsided a bit but it is quite steady and with parts of the ground still uncovered, a few serious puddles have formed, which will be a challenge if and when the rain stops. Also, from the start of the game, generally, a game should conclude in 3 hours and 20 minutes. Add another 60 minutes to that, and factoring in the actual time the first innings ended, there's still plenty of time, but time can tick by quickly in such situations. Let's stay hopeful and stick around for further updates.

UPDATE - 9.45 pm IST (4.15 pm GMT) - Well, it is pouring heavily now in Hyderabad, with the rain intensifying every passing minute. The chase would have started by now, but worry not, we have still got 60 minutes of buffer time before we start losing overs. If this match ends in an unfortunate washout, Sunrisers Hyderabad will be eliminated from the playoff race, as with one point from here, the max they would reach is 13 points. From DC's perspective, they haven't won matches lately and would find some relief by getting one point, at least, from a washout, with the total they have on the board.

UPDATE - 9.34 pm IST (4.04 pm GMT) - Not a piece of pleasing news at all, folks! As the live visuals show, the rain has gotten a bit heavier now. It started with a slight drizzle, which we hoped would stop sooner, but now it seems that we have to wait a bit longer for the second innings to begin. As things stand, the covers are firmly placed on the pitch and the squares. Let's hope that the rain stops as quickly as possible. Stay tuned for further updates.

Well then, 134 is the magic number for the Sunrisers to register their fourth win of the season. Delhi Capitals on the other hand, face a very challenging task, because if they fail to defend this total, their position in the points table will be under jeopardy. It all depends on their new-ball bowlers to start well, and for that DC will bank upon their ace pacer, Mitchell Starc. But as the live visuals show, the covers have come out as there's a slight drizzle out there in Hyderabad. Not at all a heavy downpour, and we hope that it is just that passing shower which subsides pretty soon. Stay tuned.

SRH's Jaydev Unadkat is down for a chat. He says that the way the first over went, the plan was to always bowl into the pitch. Adds that the basic plan towards the death was the same, but they also tried to mix it up, and getting crucial wickets at the right time was also helpful. Reckons that towards the end, the pitch started to get better and a few drops of rain have started to fall as well. Hopefully, the spinners won't come into play. On his dismissal of KL Rahul, Unadkat mentions that you need to have some tricks up your sleeve, including the change of angle.

Both strung a crucial recovery stand and, more importantly, with some intent, and gave some impetus to the DC's faltering innings. Given their deplorable condition at the 10-over mark, they desperately needed this boost towards the end as the two completed a solid 66-run stand. Of course, this is way below the par score, but anything above run-a-ball, gives the bowlers something to fight at. 

The core of the Capitals' batting lineup suffered a devastating blow when both Axar Patel and KL Rahul departed in quick succession. Left isolated in this wreckage, Tristan Stubbs faced a herculean recovery task. In a desperate attempt to post something remotely defendable on the scoreboard, Ashutosh Sharma joined as the Impact Sub alongside Stubbs and brought in that much-needed refreshing intent. 

Delhi Capitals plunged into crisis mode instantly, losing their top three batters in the blink of an eye to Pat Cummins' clinical opening spell. The SRH pacers constantly hit those back-of-length areas and got good support from the pitch. With momentum firmly in the home side's grasp, the visitors stumbled to a disastrous 26/4 by the end of the Powerplay, caught in a Catch-22. 

A good fightback from Delhi Capitals towards the backend has helped them to breach the 130-run mark. 47 runs came in the last five overs, which isn't too many, but given how DC were crawling their way as even crossing triple figures looked like a tough job for them, this will provide them with some solace. But overall, a job well done by the SRH bowlers as they were right on the money throughout and consolidated the dominance.

Have to say, this has been a bit of a bizarre run for the Delhi Capitals. They started the season strongly but towards the end, seem to be faltering a bit. 

Oopss.. it has just started to spit a little bit now. Hopefully, this does not affect the second innings.

Mitchell Starc is in at 9.