Royal Challengers Bangalore had a nervous wait for about three hours, wondering if they would even be able to get out onto the ground and play a game.
After the Rain Gods finally decided to relent, RCB pounced on the opportunity like a tiger on the hunt to pick up a 24-run victory over the Chennai Super Kings in an IPL 2013 game that was reduced to just eight overs each.
Nothing short of a win would have done for RCB, if they were to make it to the playoffs, and the players came up trumps under pressure to finish their league phase on a high at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Batting first, RCB posted an impressive 106 for two in eight overs, thanks to a quickfire half-century from skipper Virat Kohli (56 in 29).
The turbo-charge button went missing for CSK in reply to the target, only managing 82 runs for six in their eight overs, as Zaheer Khan impressed with a four-wicket haul.
With the win, RCB moved back to the fourth and final playoff spot, with the ball now back in the Sunrisers Hyderabad's court. The Sunrisers, currently level on points with RCB but with a far inferior nett run rate, will finish above the Bangalore side if they win their final game against KKR on Sunday.
Despite the loss, CSK finished top of the table, with Mumbai Indians second and the Rajasthan Royals third.
Hussey started things off nicely with a boundary off the first ball, but Ravi Rampaul came back strongly to keep the score at eight after the first over, before Zaheer sent Hussey back after the Australian got an outside edge to the wicketkeeper KL Rahul.
Zaheer was on a hat-trick after the next ball, with Suresh Raina mistimimg a lofted drive allowing R Vinay Kumar to complete the catch running back from mid-off.
It was nearly a team hat-trick as RP Singh missed the stumps from mid-off with Dwayne Bravo, sent back by Murali Vijay, caught well out of his crease.
The RCB bowlers were right on top, conceding just 19 runs off the first three overs, leaving CSK with a ridiculously stiff equation of 89 from 30 balls.
CSK were three down with Bravo (11 in 9 balls) top-edging one to Saurabh Tiwary at third man off Vinay Kumar a delivery after top-edging a six.
MS Dhoni came in and along with Murali Vijay reduced the target to 52 from the last two overs. However, as expected, it proved to be well beyond them, with Vijay (32, 19b, 2x4, 2x6) falling first ball in the penultimate over of Rampaul.
Dhoni (24, 10b, 2x4, 2x6) did have time to smash a six out of the ground, but the CSK captain was just left with too much to do, with Zaheer (four for 17) picking up a couple more wickets in the final over - that of Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja -- as RCB coasted to victory.
In the first innings - if you can really call it an innings - RCB pummelled the CSK bowling, led from the front by skipper Kohli.
Kohli and Chris Gayle came out to open the innings, with R Ashwin starting proceedings off for CSK. It was a nice little tight over from the off-spinner, with RCB only managing six runs, and that too despite a boundary from Kohli in the second ball.
Gayle made his intentions clear in the next over with a maximum - even if it might not have been one of those that went out of the stadium.
A couple more boundaries later, including a brilliant straight six from Kohli off Ashwin, and RCB had motored along to 33 from three overs as the home side targeted a score of over 100 runs.
Gayle (28, 13b, 4x6) exploded in the fifth over with three straight sixes off Jason Holder, before Dwayne Bravo ended his stay in the second ball of the sixth over.
The wicket fell after Dhoni missed a comfortable chance to dismiss Kohli, who was going great guns at the other end.
AB De Villiers came in, hit a boundary, attempted another one and was walking back to the pavilion after holing out to Ravindra Jadeja off Mohit Sharma.
Three consecutive boundaries from Moises Henriques pulled RCB to 90 for two with one over remaining.
Kohli (56, 29b, 6x4, 4x6) blasted a couple of sixes and one four to get to his half-century as RCB scored 16 runs off the final over to take the score to 106 for two, a score which proved to be more than enough.
