Kolkata experienced a brief afternoon shower on the day, and more rain is forecast for the evening, with a nearly 60% chance of precipitation between 6pm and 9pm. The match is scheduled to begin at 7.30pm. Rain could also affect Wednesday night’s Eliminator between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore, with a 50% chance of showers forecast.
But Naresh Ojha, the vice-president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, was confident that the match on Tuesday would go ahead, reckoning that play could begin within an hour of the rain stopping. “Our drainage is excellent, and we have full covers for the outfield,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “Even if we can start by 10.10pm, we can have a full 20-overs game, or the worst-case scenario is five overs per side with a 11.56pm start.”
This will mean that if no play – or Super Over – is possible on Tuesday, Titans will qualify for the IPL final as the table-toppers, while Royals will face the winner of the Eliminator in the second Qualifier, in Ahmedabad later in the week. If Wednesday’s Eliminator is washed out too, Super Giants will go through to the second Qualifier, with Royal Challengers knocked out.
The second Qualifier and the final are scheduled to be played in Ahmedabad on May 27 and 29 respectively.
Kolkata and the rest of West Bengal have experienced rainy weather over the past week. A Nor’wester or Kalbaisakhi – a brief and violent thunderstorm that affects India’s eastern states and Bangladesh – accompanied by 90kph winds lashed the state on Saturday and caused four deaths, according to news reports. The glass façade of the Eden Gardens press box also suffered minor damage during the storm.
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/ipl-2022-kolkata-weather-gt-vs-rr-rain-threat-looms-over-qualifier-and-eliminator-1316462