Rain ends Hyderabad’s slim hope of qualifying for IPL playoffs

HYDERABAD, India (AP) — Rain washed out Sunrisers Hyderabad’s slim chance of qualifying for the Indian Premier League playoffs on Monday.

Captain Pat Cummins’ three-wicket burst with the new ball limited Delhi Capitals to 133-7 before heavy rain and the wet outfield denied further play.

Both teams received one point each but Hyderabad, last year’s finalist, became the third team to drop out of the playoffs race after Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.

Delhi was lucky to get away with one point after more dismal batting from its top order, and was still in playoffs contention in fifth place.

Delhi stumbles against Cummins

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s captain Pat Cummins, right, celebrates the dismissal of Delhi Capitals’ Karun Nair during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad, India, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

Cummins perfectly read the tricky grassless pitch and ran Delhi into all sorts of trouble with three wickets off his first 13 balls after he won the toss and elected to field.

He had Karun Nair caught behind off the first ball of the match and Faf du Plessis was beaten by a short ball and edged behind to Ishan Kishan, who kept wickets for the first time this season in place of Heinrich Klaasen.

Cummins, who took the new ball after Mohammed Shami was left out, made it 15-3 when Kishan took a smart running catch at square leg after Abhishek Porel top-edged an attempted flick.

Cummins added a brilliant catch over his right shoulder when he back-pedalled from mid-off to dismiss Delhi captain Axar Patel.

Kishan’s fourth catch made it 29-5 when Lokesh Rahul edged Jaydev Unadkat.

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s captain Pat Cummins, right, bowls a delivery during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad, India, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

Tristan Stubbs, 41 not out, and impact player Ashutosh Sharma, 41, helped Delhi cross 100 but all of Hyderabad’s sterling work in the field was washed away by the rain.