‘No shortage of assistance’ - Jonty Rhodes assists ground staff in bringing covers on as rain disrupted play

The 45th game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 featured a clash between the KL Rahul-led Lucknow Super Giants and the four-time champions Chennai Super Kings at the Ekana Sports City Stadium in Lucknow on Wednesday, May 3.

Losing the toss, Lucknow came in to bat first, and the side put in a subpar performance with the bat. However, in the last over of the first innings, rain disrupted play. As the ground staff began to pull the covers on the pitch, Lucknow’s fielding coach, Jonty Rhodes, was seen assisting the staff.

Rhodes joined the ground staff in bringing the covers onto the pitch due to the rain. He was asked to stop by one of the officials, however, the former South African legend still found a way to assist the staff in a lively moment. The video of the incident was shared by the IPL across their social media handles.

IndianPremierLeague@IPL

.@JontyRhodes8 to the rescue 😃👌🏻 No shortage of assistance for the ground staff in Lucknow 😉 #TATAIPL | #LSGvCSK

06:16 PM · May 03, 2023

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Both sides share a point each as the match gets called off due to rain

Coming in to bat first in the absence of skipper KL Rahul, Lucknow got off to a subpar start to the first innings. Manan Vohra and Kyle Mayers failed to make an impact in the top order, amassing 10 and 14 runs to their names, respectively. Furthermore, the middle order of the side could not impress as well.

Karan Sharma, stand-in skipper Krunal Pandya, and Marcus Stoinis collectively scored 15 runs on the board. As the side looked to be plummeting towards a batting collapse, Ayush Badoni played a resilient knock, down the order. The 23-year-old played an unbeaten knock of 59 runs in 33 deliveries, with Nicholas Pooran scoring 20 runs.

By the 20th over, Lucknow had posted 125 runs on the board. However, as rain disrupted play, the game was eventually called off. Chennai put in a sensational performance with the ball; Moeen Ali, Matheesha Pathirana, and Maheesh Theekshana took two wickets each, with Ravindra Jadeja striking once. As the game was called off due to rain, both sides shared a point in the end.