Why the 2017 Editions saw the worst playoffs in history of the IPL ?

After a gruelling 1.5 months of intense cricket, the playoffs is undoubtedly the most awaited part of the tournament. The onset of the last leg of the tournament is eagerly anticipated, with cricket enthusiasts looking to find out who the big final would be played between.

This time the scene did turn out to be as rosy as hoped for  as the general view was of the playoffs being a major disappointment. Here are the reasons why the playoffs turned out to be a dampener.

Poor  Pitches – Two of the three games, due to RCB being in the final the previous season, were played in Bangalore. Through the group stages, the Chinnaswamy wicket was a complete reverse of what it is known for. The relaid pitch was slow and tough to get runs on which made the playoffs a boring affair. Adding to that even the Wankhede wicket used for  the first qualifier was a challenging wicket for the batters.

Teams Capitulating- Mumbai in Qualifer 1, Sunrisers in the Eliminator and Kolkata Knight Riders in the second qualifier, all these teams collapsed with the bat. Neither of them could sustain the pressure of a tough pitch and quality bowling. This led to all of them going down without a fight.

Rain- Another  major spoilsport was the rain in the Eliminator. While Sunrisers had set up a rather ordinary total, the nature of the pitch made people believe that the total was defendable. But the rain and implications of the DL method ensured that Sunrisers virtually had no chance.

LACK OF STARS- The upcoming ODI series between South Africa and England resulted in key players leaving the IPL just before the playoff began. Thus the playoffs were denied of top quality talent like that of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Imran Tahir and  Chris Woakes.