9.55pm Nothing left to see here. It was a bold effort from Superchargers, with Dan Lawrence's 44 not out from 29 balls to the fore. But Rockets endure. Join us again tomorrow for the final... can Joe Root and Co. deny Invincibles their three-peat? We shall see!
9.52pm Handshakes! It is done. Trent Rockets progress to the final as the heavy rain wrecks Northern Superchargers' spirited challenge. It could have been a very dicey finish for the Rockets, their target was a stiff one in these conditions. But now they can rest up as best they can, and head over the Thames to Lord's to take on Oval Invincibles tomorrow evening.
9.45pm Really hard to see how this one restarts now. It is properly minging out there now. Lee Fortis and the umps are chatting in the mizzle.
Kasinathan: "Why don't the umpires call it quits and allow Rockets to take rest before the final which is hardly 18 hours away" Well, by 10.15pm they will have to... I guess we've come so far, we might as well go a little further...
9.43pm Matthew Potts to share the honours, as the rain makes its return! A perfect intervention as far as Rockets are concerned. They've kept themselves ahead of the initial required rate, and now DLS will reduce their requirement (and their balls) further... We are now just 14 minutes from that 9.58pm cut-off... although, there are only 20 balls needed to constitute a game now, so that might yet be extended beyond 10pm ... cricket eh?
END OF OVER:15 | 7 Runs | NSC-M: 119/5 | RR: 7.93
- Samit Patel6 (4b)
- Dan Lawrence44 (31b)
- George Linde1.5-0-17-0
- Marcus Stoinis2.5-0-28-2
9.03pm Looks like a 9.25pm resumption is on the cards, and Superchargers' innings has been closed. We'll bring you the target and balls when we hear it.
134 from 75 balls is the target. That feels generous but let's see! The powerplay will be 19 balls. Each bowler can bowl 15.
Andrew: "I'm not sure the target is too generous. Super Chargers didn't have that much batting left, and it's well above the runs per ball they'd managed to that point. Shame to lose what would have been a fascinating end to their innings though!" True, though the dynamics when you know a quarter of the innings is missing are rather different.
Looks like Michael Pepper has taken the gloves as a sub fielder, with Dawid Malan injured... Tom Moores will be livid, as per this week's story on the Newsfile!
8.52pm No news is no news... the covers are very emphatically in place. The ultimate cut-off time is 9.58pm which is the latest that a 25-ball run-chase could be launched... and it sounds like the target in that situation would be 54...
Paul [Thereisso]Muchmore[ofthistocome] adds this splash of colour to the mix: "Drizzle still constant. big Lee's rope has been going around for the last 15 minutes, I guess just keeping the outfield in a condition to enable a resumption if it does stop. Main covers unmoved."
8.29pm Getting heavier again. More covers coming on and brollies going up. We are now into lost-balls territory, and not of the six-hitting variety. In fact, seeing as Superchargers have faced 75, there's probably a case of calling it quits and setting DLS on the target.
Kasinathan: "It is 1.00 am in India. By the time this match finishes I have to switch over to CPL foregoing my sleep. It is one of the days. Hmm"
8.22pm The interval has now been reduced to 10 minutes... fair play to the Hundred regs... they are so flexible they can touch their toes bending backwards.
8.19pm The rain is getting heavier, and off they go again! This is that big band I was talking about earlier... the good news is, I think this might be the last of the heavy stuff. The bad news is, we will be losing balls by the time we resume.
This from the ECB, just before the latest interruption:
The game restarted 20.00
Cut off time 20.30 at present 15 minute interval
Second innings scheduled to commence at 20.44 with second innings due to finish at 21.49
Still no reduction to the number of balls as of yet.
Linde returns after Rehan's rough treatment
