The stage is set for IPL playoffs after the final day of the league phase proved to be a humdinger, with Mumbai Indians managing to qualify for the Top 4, ahead of RCB who went down to the defending Champions, Gujarat Titans.
While Mumbai beat Sunrisers Hyderabad, chasing down yet another 200+ total, RCB couldn't defend their score of 197 as Virat Kohli's 7th IPL ton was trumped by his heir apparent, Shubman Gill, who won Gujarat Titans the match with his second consecutive ton this IPL.
5-time Champions Mumbai Indians qualified as the fourth team on the points table, with the Gujarat Titans, Chennai Super Kings & Lucknow Super Giants making up the Top 3 above them.
IPL Playoffs Format
The IPL Playoffs consist of a total of 4 matches.
The top two teams, the Gujarat Titans & the Chennai Super Kings, will face each other in the first match of the playoffs, Qualifier 1. The winner of this contest will gain direct entry into the final.
The second game is the Eliminator, where the third & fourth-placed teams play a knockout match. In this case, the Lucknow Super Giants will face the Mumbai Indians.
The third game is Qualifier 2, where the winner of the Eliminator will face the loser of Qualifier 1, for a place in the final.
The fourth and final game is the final, which of course will take place on May 28 in Ahmedabad.
Playoff Match Details
Qualifier 1: GT vs CSK on May 23 (Tuesday) at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai - 7:30 PM
Eliminator: LSG vs MI on May 24 (Wednesday) at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai - 7:30 PM
Qualifier 2: TBD vs TBD on May 26 (Friday) at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad - 7:30 PM
Final: TBD vs TBS on May 28 (Sunday) at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad - 7:30 PM
Weather
Chennai: With maximum temperatures hovering around the 35 to 37-degree mark and no chance of rain, both the Qualifier 1 & Eliminator should go ahead without any issues
Ahmedabad: There's a 20% chance of some rain on both Friday & Sunday, the day Qualifier 2 & Final will be played. However, expect full 40-overs games on both matchdays.
Squads
Gujarat Titans squad: Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya(c), David Miller, Dasun Shanaka, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, Yash Dayal, Srikar Bharat, Vijay Shankar, Darshan Nalkande, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Shivam Mavi, Matthew Wade, Alzarri Joseph, Abhinav Manohar, Odean Smith, Jayant Yadav, Pradeep Sangwan, Urvil Patel
Chennai Super Kings squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w/c), Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Nishant Sindhu, Subhranshu Senapati, Shaik Rasheed, Akash Singh, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Sisanda Magala, Ben Stokes, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Prashant Solanki, RS Hangargekar, Bhagath Varma, Simarjeet Singh
Lucknow Super Giants squad: Quinton de Kock(w), Deepak Hooda, Prerak Mankad, Krunal Pandya(c), Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Naveen-ul-Haq, Ravi Bishnoi, Swapnil Singh, Mohsin Khan, Kyle Mayers, Yash Thakur, Krishnappa Gowtham, Daniel Sams, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Amit Mishra, Karun Nair, Manan Vohra, Mark Wood, Avesh Khan, Romario Shepherd, Arpit Guleria, Suryansh Shedge, Karan Sharma
Mumbai Indians squad: Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav, Nehal Wadhera, Tim David, Hrithik Shokeen, Chris Jordan, Piyush Chawla, Jason Behrendorff, Akash Madhwal, Vishnu Vinod, Kumar Kartikeya, Ramandeep Singh, Tristan Stubbs, Raghav Goyal, Arshad Khan, Dewald Brevis, Arjun Tendulkar, Riley Meredith, Shams Mulani, Tilak Varma, Duan Jansen, Sandeep Warrier