Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
In a major news coming in from the Indian Premier League (IPL) circuit, the last two matches of the league stage of the T20 tournament is now set to be played simultaneously for the first time in the history of the competition. An official update has confirmed that the last match day of the league stage which is October 8 will see two matches played concurrently instead of one afternoon and one evening match.
The two matches which are scheduled on the day are SunRisers Hyderabad against the Mumbai Indians at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi and the Royal Challengers Bangalore against the Delhi Capitals at the Dubai International Stadium. The decision has been taken to avoid any kind of advantage to the side who is still in contention for the Playoffs race but hasn't yet confirmed a place.
Delhi, Hyderabad unlikely to get affected
As of now, two of the four teams are unlikely to get affected by the change in schedule. These are Delhi Capitals and SunRisers Hyderabad. This is because while Delhi are almost certain of finishing in the top two, SunRisers are virtually out of the race for the final four and their hopes rest on a rare mathematical possibility after being on 4 points from 10 matches.
The remaining two teams who will be in action on the day are Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians. Both are so far in the Playoffs race but have work to do as far as the Playoff qualification race is concerned. While Mumbai have 8 points from 10 games, Bangalore have 12 points from 10 matches.
Mumbai in the middle of a tricky run chase
As of now, Mumbai are in a tricky situation in the match against Punjab Kings. While they had kept Punjab down to 135/6, they have been reduced to 2 down for 16 runs and are in a rebuilding phase of their innings with Quinton de Kock and Saurabh Tiwary in the middle.
Mumbai are yet to win a match in the UAE leg of IPL 2021 and have already tasted defeat in three successive matches. On the other hand, Punjab have managed to taste win over Hyderabad by 5 runs.