IPL 2021 Playoffs: Who plays whom? Full fixtures, schedule, key players & timings

It was so near and yet so far for defending champions Mumbai Indians who were knocked out of the IPL 2021 by Sunrisers Hyderabad despite Mumbai winning the match by 42 runs. The Rohit Sharma led team had a huge task in hand which was to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 171 runs and qualify for play-off but the defending champions failed to do so.

While Mumbai Indians were knocked out from IPL 2021 playoffs race, Kolkata Knight Riders who crushed Rajasthan Royals in their last match gained entry as the final team in the IPL 2021 Playoffs. Now that the entire picture is clear as to which teams have qualified for playoffs 2021 let's take a look at IPL 2021 Playoffs Schedule.

IPL 2021 Playoffs Schedule

Coming to the IPL 2021 playoff schedule Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings will face each other in qualifier 1. The DC vs CSK match is scheduled to happen on October 10 at the Dubai International Stadium. The Eliminator match will be played between Royal CHallengers Bangalore and Kolkata knight Riders. The RCB vs KKR Eliminator match will be played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on October 11. The qualifier 2 match will be played on October 13. All the matches are scheduled for 7:30 PM IST start.

Which teams have qualified for playoffs 2021

The four teams to qualify for the IPL 2021 Playoffs are Delhi Capitals, Chennai Super Kings, Royal challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders. Delhi Capitals will enter the IPL 2021 playoffs after topping the league stage with 20 points. The Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore finished on 18 points but CSK finished second due to a better net run rate. The fourth and final team in the IPL 2021 playoffs is Kolkata Knight Riders.

How teams in IPL 2021 playoffs can enter final 

With a place in the final at stake let's take a look at how teams can punch their ticket to the final. The first two spots on the IPL points table hold utmost importance since the losing team gets the second shot at qualifying for the finals. The DC vs CSK match will see the winner gaining a direct entry to the final of the IPL 2021, while the loser will have another shot at the final but have to face the winner of the RCB vs KKR Eliminator match. The Eliminator match between RCB and KKR will see the loser going home, while the winner will play the loser from the DC vs CSK match in qualifier 2 to stake their claim for a place in the IPL 2021 final.