IPL Schedule 2017: Updated Fixture List, Live-Stream Info, Odds and Predictions
Kings XI Punjab saw their 2017 Indian Premier League season come to a close on Sunday after Rising Pune Supergiant beat the post-season hopefuls by nine wickets to cement fourth place on the regular campaign's last day.
The Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium hosts came into the clash two points behind fourth-placed Pune and needed a win to clinch their place in the play-offs but fell woefully short at the last hurdle.
Sunday's other IPL encounter saw basement outfit Royal Challengers Bangalore defeat Delhi Daredevils by 10 runs in their final match of the season.
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ESPNcricinfo provided a look at the table after Pune's Sunday surge assured them of a place in the post-season schedule:
Read on for a look ahead to this season's IPL play-off schedule, complete with latest odds and predictions for who we'll see advance to the next stages of the competition.
| Tuesday, May 16 | 3:30 p.m. BST/10:30 a.m. ET/8 p.m. local time | Mumbai Indians (14-19) vs. Rising Pune Supergiant (5-4) | Mumbai Indians |
| Wednesday, May 17 | 3:30 p.m. BST/10:30 a.m. ET/8 p.m. local time | Sunrisers Hyderabad (19-20) vs. Kolkata Knight Riders (1-1) | Sunrisers Hyderabad |
Odds come courtesy of Oddschecker and are accurate as of 8 p.m. BST on Sunday.
Mumbai Indians vs. Rising Pune Supergiant
Despite winning just once in their last three outings, Mumbai built up enough steam to see out the regular campaign at the head of the IPL standings, and their reward is a meeting in Qualifier 1 opposite in-form Pune.
What's more, Mumbai rediscovered their stride at the opportune moment on Saturday, when they beat Kolkata to preserve their place at the summit, sealing a substantial IPL accolade in the process, per Cricbuzz:
Meanwhile, Rising Pune Supergiant will miss arguably their best player as Ben Stokes heads to Spain for an England training camp.
However, the decision made by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) didn't sit well with Stokes' former international team-mate Kevin Pietersen:
Bearing that loss in mind, Pune will be without the talents of an all-rounder of elite quality, meaning an even greater burden falls on the likes of Steve Smith and Jaydev Unadkat to lead the batting and bowling, respectively.
That said, Mumbai have showed themselves to be arguably the most consistent outfit across the board with the proper motivation, and they should have the class to end Pune's recent reign of terror.
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs. Kolkata Knight Riders
Sunrisers Hyderabad head into an eliminator fixture opposite Kolkata Knight Riders hoping to become only the second team to successfully defend the Indian Premier League T20 title.
Between David Warner's prolific batting—the Australian leads the race for the Orange Cap with 604 runs—and Purple Cap favourite Bhuvneshwar Kumar's bowling, that looks a realistic goal for the team.
A lull in form has seen this year's play-off entrants suffer of late, although the Sunrisers are the only qualifier to have won their last two games back-to-back, celebrating their progress to the post-season in some style:
Chennai Super Kings were the first—and, to date, only—team to clinch back-to-back IPL crowns when they stormed to successive trophies in 2010 and 2011, meaning they hold a lonesome spot in the history books.
Hyderabad will look to crash that party and build on their 2016 success one year later, and as fate would have it, the Knight Riders will again have the honour of standing between them and a place in Qualifier 2.
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