The last league games of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League will be played simultaneously at different venues, the IPL governing council said in a statement. The last two games of the first stage of the tournament are scheduled to be played on October 8 and both the matches will start at 7.30 PM.
In the first game of the final league stage, the defending champions Mumbai Indians are slated to play the Sunrisers Hyderabad while the second game of the day is scheduled for a contest between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Delhi Capitals.
The move could be seen as a step taken to provide a fair chance to all the sides competing for the first four spots. And the lack of clarity about the name of the four teams for the playoff stage makes it more interesting for the teams and the fans who ardently follow the competition.
The BCCI and the IPL governing council could well have taken the decision to stop teams having an unfair advantage of knowing the margin of victory they require to achieve to make it through.
The Chennai Super Kings and the Delhi Capitals have won eight matches this season and appear set to advance to the next stage while there is stiff competition between other sides such as Mumbai, RCB, Rajasthan Royals and the Kolkata Knight Riders for the other two spots.