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IPL so far III - The Home Stretch

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56 matches. 40 days. And the top four teams are finally decided. It took a while to get here. The journey has been truly exciting and entertaining. There have been a few disappointments, many surprises and a lot of joy that has come out of this little trip. The top four teams - Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Kolkata, have to now battle it out amongst each other to win the outstanding trophy.
Mumbai’s trip to the next level has been quite something indeed. With 20 points out of 14 matches, they top the table. While the key players such as Rohit Sharma, K Pandya, and M McClenaghan play an important role, it is vital for the other players to step up as well and play their role. They won their very first match by four wickets and had a good start. Since then, it has been a smooth ride for them. The month of May was harder for them with a couple of defeats but they got back on track to come back on top. Will this be their third cup?
Pune. The newbies in the league, they have done extraordinarily well. With 18 points from 14 games, they are second on the table. They are truly rising in the league and making an impression the right way. Pune thrashed Punjab with a massive nine-wicket difference to get to second place.  
Pune and Mumbai have met four times, with Pune winning three of them. Pune has never been in a playoff. This could be their second or third last game as a T20 team. They have nothing to lose and everything to gain. That could be their biggest advantage. With Ben Stokes and Imran Tahir out, they need to give more than their best.
By virtue of being top two, Mumbai and Pune have two chances of making it to the grand finale on May 21st. The team that loses Qualifier 1 can try again through the eliminator.
The other match will see Hyderabad face Kolkata. Hyderabad, the defending champions, would love to retain the cup. Hyd have made 17 points out of 14 games. Their captain, Warner is the tournament’s highest run maker. Dhawan also adds to the batting lineup. Bhuvneshwar Kumar adds muscle to the bowling lineup and has shown what he can do. Hyderabad is not going to go without a fight.
Last but not the least, Kolkata. They have had a good run in the tournament but seemed to have lost some shine along the way. They just about managed to make it to the top four. As one of the most popular teams in the league and with a very good all-rounder effort, they cannot be ruled out in any way.
The tenth league does not disappoint in any way. The next few days will be just as exciting as ever. The matches are bound to be close. The tension in the air will be high. If you want to be superstitious, please be. Whatever brings luck to your team. Let’s cross everything we can and hope for the best.


And if you are playing our fantasy app, there could be more than one team to pray for. Yes It can get dicey, but hey, all's fair in love and war. Your dream team on our fantasy app is just as important. Why shouldn’t it be? You have so much more to win on the fantasy app.
Here’s a little bit of trivia.
We have had about 200K users on the platform, and on average 15000 have submitted lineups for every game.
We have already given out Rs 3.5 Lakhs worth of prizes and have increased the playoff prizes to a whopping 500 per game
We have 5 persistent performers lined up to get iPhone 7, Google Pixel, iPhone 6, Asus Zenphone and Lenovo K6 Power for their efforts
Now play for yourself and play for the team. Just play.
Make no plans for the next few days. Keep all the snacks and drinks you need to keep you going. The players are likely to take the show by storm, breaking many more records on the way.
Indu



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