After scintillating two months of action in the 70 matches of the IPL 2022 league stage, we finally have our four teams that will play in the playoffs matches, two of which will be played in Kolkata and two including the final will be played in Ahmedabad.
The first qualifier will see Gujarat Titans (GT) taking on Rajasthan Royals (RR) on May 24 at the Eden Gardens, while the Eliminator match will see Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) clashing with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on May 25, also in Eden Gardens.
The winner of qualifier one will go straight into the IPL 2022 final to be played in Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera on May 29, while the second finalist will be determined when the loser of the first qualifier and winner of the eliminator match clash in the second qualifier on May 27, in Ahmedabad.
However, with the weather playing up in Kolkata, which has seen storms and heavy rains for the past week, the IPL has been forced to issue directives in case the weather becomes a deciding factor in choosing the winners of the first two playoff matches to be played in Kolkata.
As per IPL issued guidelines, a Super Over could decide Indian Premier League's champions should rain gods play spoilsport and no play is possible in regulation time. If not even an over a side is possible, the league standing will take precedence and will decide the winner.
This will apply to Qualifier 1, Eliminator, and Qualifier 2, which do not have reserve days. May 30 has been kept aside as a reserve day for the final on May 29, which is slated for May 29.
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"The number of overs in the playoff match may, if necessary, be reduced so that each side has the opportunity to bat for five overs. For the Eliminator and each Qualifier playoff matches, in the event that it is not possible to schedule a five-over match to complete by the end of the extra time on an original day, the teams will, if conditions permit, play a Super Over to determine the winner of the relevant Eliminator or Qualifier match," IPL directives said.
“If the Super Over is not possible "the team that finished highest in the league table after the 70 matches of the regular season shall be declared the winner of the relevant playoff match or final,” it added.
In case of the two Qualifiers and the Eliminator, if one innings is complete but no play is possible in the second, the DLS method will come into play.
If the final starts on May 29 that is at least one ball is bowled then the "match will resume at the point where it stopped on the previous day. For the avoidance of doubt, any match recalculations done without the match actually restarting on the previous night will be ignored.”
(PTI inputs)
