Raipur, May 13 (IANS) The toss in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 clash between defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and three-time winners Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has been delayed due to persistent rain and a wet outfield at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium in Raipur on Wednesday.

At 4:30 pm, the entire ground was covered due to rain for about 30 minutes. A brief drizzle made an appearance around 6:15 pm. The square was uncovered for a while, but the ground was fully covered now, with super soppers moving around on the covers.

But again at 6:35 pm, the rain became heavier, and was accompanied by thunder and lightning. Though rain stopped five minutes before the scheduled toss time, on-field umpires Rohan Pandit and Nitin Menon, along with fourth umpire Kaushik Gandhi, inspected conditions as ground staff members carefully peeled away covers with water collected on them.

The delay, though, may go on as streaks of lightning were visible on a rather frequent basis, especially with the pitch inspection scheduled at 8:15 pm local time. The Raipur pitch has not been easy for batting, with bowlers expected to exploit the conditions. RCB entered the contest buoyed by a thrilling last‑ball win over the Mumbai Indians at the same venue.

A win would take RCB to the top of the points table, while KKR, unbeaten in their last four games, need a victory to stay alive in the race to the playoffs. But if the game in Raipur is washed out, it would give both teams one point each.

That would mean RCB would be at 15 points from 12 matches and maintain themselves in the top four standings. For KKR, it will be a bit of a blow as their equation would be 10 points from 11 matches, and they will need to win their remaining games in the home stretch at Eden Gardens to have a faint chance of entering the playoffs.

–IANS

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