IPL 2026 Playoff, Qualifier-1 and Eliminator Teams: All four teams have been decided for the IPL 2026 playoffs. Rajasthan Royals, captained by Riyan Parag, became the fourth team to reach the top-4. Royal Challengers Bangalore was the first to enter the playoffs. After this, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans had registered their names. Now Rajasthan has also joined the list.

After the four teams have been decided, now a question is arising that how will the matches between the four teams be in the playoffs? Which team will play whom? Here you will get the answer in simple language as to who will fight with whom now?

Qualifier-1 will be between RCB and Gujarat

Qualifier-1 is played between the top-2 teams. The teams of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Titans are at first and second position respectively in the table. There will be Qualifier-1 between the two. This match will be held on 26th May (Tuesday) in Dharamshala.

Eliminator between Hyderabad and Rajasthan

The teams finishing third and fourth in the table play an eliminator match. The teams of Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals are at third and fourth position respectively in the table. The eliminator match between the two will be held on May 27 at the Maharaja Yadvendra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh.

Top-2 teams have 2 chances, team out with defeat in eliminator

The teams that play Qualify-1 by being in the top-2 have 2 chances. The team that wins Qualifier-1 gets a place in the direct finals. Whereas the losing team gets a chance to play in Qualifier-2. The winning team in Qualifier-2 becomes the second finalist. The final match is played between the two.

The journey of the team that loses in the Eliminator ends and the winning team faces the team that loses in Qualifier-1 in Qualifier-2. The Qualifier-2 match will be played on May 29 in New Chandigarh on the same ground where the eliminator match will be held. Now it will be interesting to see which team becomes the champion this time.

Also read: Why did South’s legendary hero Ram Charan apologize to Jasprit Bumrah? Confessed mistake in front of the world

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had already announced the schedule of the playoffs. Now all four teams of the playoffs have also been revealed. Defending champions Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans have secured a place in the playoffs.

The final of IPL 2026 will be played on 31 May at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. But before that, all four teams will face each other, but on which date will their matches be played. Here you will get the answer to this question.

Complete schedule of IPL 2026 playoffs

Playoff matches are decided on the basis of points table. The teams finishing first and second in the table come face to face in the first qualifier. This means that there will be a clash between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 on 26th May.

The third and fourth placed teams face each other in the eliminator match. The eliminator match will be played between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals on 27th May. After this the question arises that who will compete in the second qualifier.

• 26 May – RCB vs GT – 1st Qualifier (Dharamshala)
• 27 May – SRH vs RR – Eliminator (New Chandigarh)
• 29 May – 2nd Qualifier – New Chandigarh
• 31 May – Final – Ahmedabad

RCB has a chance to reach the final directly

Actually, the team that wins the first qualifier directly reaches the finals. This means both Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Titans will have a chance to reach the finals directly. Suppose RCB wins Qualifier 1 and goes to the final. Even after that, Gujarat Titans will not be out, because they will get a second chance to go to the finals. Gujarat will again play in Qualifier 2.

The team that loses the eliminator is out of the tournament and the winning team plays Qualifier 2. Then the team that wins Qualifier 2 faces the winner of Qualifier 1 in the final.

Also read:

Mumbai lost because of this one mistake, Captain Hardik told; Know who is responsible for the defeat

The league stage of the IPL 2026 tournament ends on May 24. The playoff stage is very close, but before announcing the venue of the final and other playoff matches, a new problem has arisen in front of BCCI. Since the IPL 2025 title was won by Royal Challengers Bangalore and the final of the next season is played at the home ground of the defending champion team. According to the plan, the final of IPL 2026 is to be held in Bengaluru, but due to the problem of MLA ticket, this time the title match may not be organized in Bengaluru.

BCCI Secretary Devjit Saikia has said that the playoff schedule will be announced very soon. Now, quoting news agency ANI, a BCCI source said that organizing playoff and final matches is possible in Punjab and Karnataka. The final should be held at the home ground of last year’s winner RCB, but the MLA ticket issue is creating problems in Bengaluru. If a solution is not found, then the final will be organized in some other city instead of Bengaluru.

What is the whole matter?

In fact, Congress MLA Vijayanand Kashapanavar from Hungund assembly seat of Karnataka had publicly demanded that every MLA should get at least five tickets for IPL matches. He believed that MLAs are representatives elected by the public, hence they should be treated as VIPs, so that they do not have to stand in queues like common people. Many other MLAs supported this demand.

Also read: ‘Just come, I will send a private jet…’, IPL team owner gave offer to the player; If I asked dad…

Seeing the seriousness of the matter, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar announced a compromise under which each MLA was allotted three tickets each at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The matter did not rest here either, because to prevent misuse of tickets, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said that only MLAs and their family members can use the allotted tickets.

At present, there is no clarity regarding whether the final match of IPL 2026 will be played at MChinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru or not. There are about two weeks left for the playoff stage, but there is no clue about the schedule yet.

Also read:

DC vs CSK Playing 11: Lungi Ngidi 100 percent fit, will there be any change in Chennai also; Know the possible XII of DC and CSK