CENTURION: Delhi Daredevils progressed to the semi-finals of the Champions League Twenty20 with an unbeaten record after their final group match against Titans was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to incessant light rain here on Tuesday.

The start of the match at the SuperSport Park was delayed due to drizzle and the umpires waited for nearly one and half hours before they decided to call off the match at 7:00pm local time.

Daredevils and Titans have already booked semi-final berths even before the start of the match after Perth Scorchers defeated Auckland Aces by 16 runs in another Group ‘A’ match at the same venue earlier in the day.

The Titans had won the toss and elected to bowl but the incessant drizzle did not allow the match to start.

Both the sides got two points each from the abandoned match and the result means that the Daredevils topped Group ‘A’ with 12 points, two more than the Titans, with two wins and two no results, including Tuesday’s.

Their earlier group match against Auckland Aces was also called off without a ball being bowled due to rain in Durban last Friday.

There was more disappointment for recalled England batsman Kevin Pietersen who had managed just 14 and nine runs respectively against fellow IPL outfit Kolkata Knight Riders and Perth Scorchers.

The controversial South Africa-born 32-year-old batsman was hoping for a lot more time in the middle before joining the England squad for a tour of India next month.

Pietersen was given the boot by England two months ago after he sent text messages to South African opponents during a three-Test series in which he criticised teammates, including then skipper Andrew Strauss.

He missed the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, where England surrendered the title, working as a commentator for a US-based network instead.

England and Pietersen mended relations before the 10-franchise group stage of the Champions Trophy began and the batsman would have hoped for much more than 23 runs off 27 deliveries by the end of the mini-league phase.

The Daredevils now play Group ‘B’ runners-up Highveld Lions in the first semi-final on Thursday at Kingsmead in Durban.

The Titans will take on Group ‘B’ winners Sydney Sixers in the second semi-final here in Centurion on Friday.

The final is scheduled to be played at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Sunday. —Agencies