TATA IPL 2022 Playoffs: Who wears the Indian Cricket's Crown Jewel?

After successfully completing 70 league matches in TATA IPL 2022, Gujarat Titans, Rajasthan Royals, Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore have qualified for Playoffs. Finally, count down starts for a four-match shoot-out between the last four teams standing. Unlike the other seasons where the Playoffs were played on worn-out tracks at the end of the season, this time, they will be played on fresher pitches in Kolkata and Ahmedabad, presenting a very different dynamic to the teams. This would mean teams may have to tinker with the existing combination to adjust to the conditions change.

In this year's tournament, the two new franchises, Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants overpowered the points table by being at number 1 and 2. However, GT were the ones who qualified for the playoffs first with 20 points. Rajasthan Royals were the second to qualify, followed by Lucknow Super Giants at third position and Royal Challengers Bangalore at 4th after a mind-blowing and exciting contribution made by Mumbai Indians.

Earlier, the BCCI has revealed that the first qualifier on May 24 and the Eliminator match of the IPL 2022 playoffs on May 25 will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata; while the second qualifier on May 27 and the final of the match will be played on May 29 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

All these four playoff matches will have 100% crowd capacity in the stadiums. The final game will be preceded by a glittering closing ceremony where Bollywood personalities Ranveer Singh and AR Rahman are scheduled to perform and celebrate the 75 years of Indian independence.

IPL 2022 Play-Offs Schedule:

Qualifier 1: Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals – 7:30 PM Tue, 24th May (Kolkata)

Eliminator: Lucknow Super Giants vs Royal Challengers Bangalore – 7:30 PM Wed, 25th May (Kolkata)

Qualifier 2: Loser of Qualifier 1 vs Winner of Eliminator – 7:30 PM Fri, 27th May (Ahmedabad)

FINAL: Winner of Qualifier 1 vs Winner Qualifier 2 – 8 PM Sun, 29th May (Ahmedabad)

Details about the Qualifiers and Eliminators of IPL 2022:

Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals became the third team to qualify for the playoffs after defeating Chennai Super Kings on May 20. With a better net run rate, they left LSG behind and finished in the second spot on the points table, securing their place in the first qualifier of the IPL 2022.

From being the side that was the least successful among spin attacks last season, the Royals have rebuilt their spin department in the auction, and the result is there for everyone to see. The tandem of Yuzvendra Chahal and R Ashwin form the most successful spin attack in the competition, getting 38 wickets at 23.55. Chahal, who has misled many batters this season with his drift and dip, started off with a flurry of wickets, but Ashwin, once his return, dipped a touch and stepped up.

Gujarat Titans

Gujarat Titans won 10 matches in the league stage, and the Hardik Pandya-led team beat some games from the jaws of defeat as well. They will be faced against a well-oiled Rajasthan Royals, who came into the first qualifier after nine wins in the league stage. Titans demonstrated to be the season's surprise package by not just qualifying but also finishing as table toppers. The side's strength was the bowling core of Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, and Lockie Ferguson, and it was undoubtedly the bowling attack that played a pivotal role in their march to the knockouts. The success of their fast bowlers was directly proportional to their success.

Titans' seam attack was the most intelligent with the new ball, picking 25 wickets at a strike rate of 19. Shami was the head of this pace pack with 11 Powerplay wickets at 20 apiece. Their seam spell has also been among the most economical at the death overs, going at under 10 per over in extra to Rashid's eight wickets at 6.18 in this phase.

Titans have also had one of the most powerful sets of finishers like Hardik Pandya, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan. The decision to move Hardik up the order has not dented them one bit. Rashid has eventually shown what he could do with the bat, and between the three of Miller, Tewatia, and Rashid, they have scored 429 runs in the death overs at a strike rate of 180.

Royal Challengers Banaglore

RCB came into the final four thanks to a bit of help from Mumbai Indians. As MI beat Delhi Capitals in their last league match by five wickets, giving RCB the push into the 4th spot, DC finished with 14 points only, despite a better net run rate. Mike Hesson has had the most crucial imprint in his three years with Royal Challengers Bangalore. His focus was on a solid bowling attack marked by the previous regimes, where they almost always fielded unbalanced XIs heavily lopsided to their batting might. RCB spent a third of their purse to acquire the services of Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel and Josh Hazlewood, who sit on top of the wickets charts for RCB with 57 wickets among them at 18 apiece with a wicket every 14 balls.

Despite RCB picking the fewest wickets among all sides in the PowerPlay, they are the best performing side in the middle phase, picking 45 wickets at 20.40. Hasaranga has been the wrecker in chief in this phase, taking 17 wickets, while Harshal has chipped in with nine scalps with his cutters.

Replacing an AB de Villiers' calibre with a new player is unbelievable for any team, but Dinesh Karthik has just done that. Or almost. Karthik has played his part of a pace hitter to near perfection, hitting 222 runs at a strike rate of 234 against seamers. He has smashed 287 runs across the season, 213 of those runs coming in death overs at a rate of 215 runs per 100 balls with a boundary almost every third ball.

Lucknow Super Giants

The Eliminator match of the IPL 2022 will be played between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore on May 25 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. In a season where dealing the new ball was a task, Super Giants' opening duo of KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock stood out. Not only they are the most successful opening combination of the season, but singly they sit second and third in the run charts with over 1000 runs between them. Their mark on Super Giants wins is so explicit that every time either or both of them have crossed 40, they have gone on to win, and when both have failed together, it has inevitably ended in a defeat for the Super Giants.

The varied four-person pace attack of Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Jason Holder, and Dushmanta Chameera gives Super Giants attack edge in all aspects - pace, bounce, swing, left-arm angle as well other variations.