Here is what to expect from the 4 teams in the playoffs:- IPL 2017 has been a roller coaster journey not only for the teams but also for their overenthusiastic fans who were all set to be a part of their team’s pulsating as well as their excruciating times. The teams not only struggled hard for a spot in the qualifiers but also somewhere fought for the top two spots. Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiants gained that extra advantage. Of the four qualifying teams: Mumbai Indians, Rising pune supergiants. Kolkata knight riders and sun risers Hyderabad ; MI will play their first qualifiers’ against RPS on 16th may, Tuesday at wankhede stadium, Mumbai.
Qualifier 1
The winning team will move a step ahead in the race of winning the trophy by playing the finals on 21st may, Sunday at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. However, journey of the losing team won’t end here as they will get their last chance of entering the finals by playing Qualifiers 2 against the winning team of the eliminators on 19th may, Friday at M. chinnaswamy, Bengaluru.
RPS has gained the momentum by winning their last 5 out of 6 matches. According to the stats, RPS is the only team to win both the previous matches against MI. The stalwart Rohit Sharma getting back into his form is a big boon for MI along with the form of hardik pandya and kieron pollard. Along with this, saurabh tiwary and Ambati rayudu held the back of their team in the last few games. Jasprit bumrah may prove to be the key player for MI. To summarize this, MI has a lot of positives in their sides with the on going form of their key players along with the home advantage.
The loss of Ben strokes and Imran Tahir in this crucial stage of league will be a fretting condition for RPS. Jaydev unadkat has been in a good form throughout but the form of Stalwarts like Mahendra singh dhoni and Ajinkya Rahane has always been an issue of concern. The small ground of wankhede has always been beneficial to the batsmen and this time it won’t be any different either. The fans can expect a high scoring and thriller game overall.
Eliminator 2
The two other qualifying teams SRH and KKR will play the eliminator match on 17th may, Wednesday at M. chinnaswamy stadium, Bengaluru. The team winning the eliminator will play the 2nd qualifiers on 19th may.
SRH will be all set to defend their IPL title whereas KKR would like to win their 3rd ever title. Both the sides have a well balanced and robust team. The likes of gautam gambhir, sunil narine has always been beneficial to KKR. Kuldeep yadav, Umesh Yadav and Trent Boult will prove to be a boon for the team. Warner- dhawan partnership would be something to look for.
At the end, it is going to be a galvanizing final where all the teams will fight hard to win the trophy and repay the love and support of their fans.
Finals– 21st may, Sunday at Rajiv Gandhi International stadium, Hyderabad at 8.00 pm.
– by Shraddha Kejriwal
