West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has been given a special invitation to attend the IPL play-offs at Eden Gardens on Tuesday and Wednesday. In response, Banerjee thanked the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) for inviting her.“It is a matter of great joy that Kolkata will once again play host to the IPL and cricket enthusiasts of Bengal, after a long wait, will get the opportunity to witness the flavour and excitement of one the best T20 tournaments in the world. My heartiest congratulations to CAB and its stakeholders for making all this possible,” she added.
The CM also conveyed her heartfelt greetings to the players as well as support staff of the participating team and wished them a happy and fulfilling stay in Kolkata.While Gujarat Titans take on Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 1 on Tuesday, Lucknow Super Giants will play Royal Challengers Bangalore at the same venue the next day in the Eliminator.. With inclement weather forecast for the city at least for the first few days of the week, there is a worry about games playing out as scheduled. A Super Over will decide the result if any of the IPL playoff matches - including the final - is disrupted by the weather and no play is possible in regulation time. And in case the ground conditions continue to remain unplayable, then the league standings will be used to identify the winners. The IPL final will start at 8 pm, which is half an hour later than the usual starting time of 7.30pm. May 30 will be reserve day if the final is disrupted and cannot be finished for any reason on that day. For the two Qualifiers and the Eliminator, which do not have reserve days, if one innings is complete but no play is possible in the second, the DLS method will be applied to determine the match result.
