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In a surprise decision, the Indian Premier League final to be played on June 1 was shifted out of Mumbai to Bangalore, the BCCI announced on Saturday.
The final of the tournament has always been staged at the home ground of the previous winners which in this case was the Mumbai Indians, but the BCCI decided to shift the game to Bangalore.
The IPL Governing Council took the decision after it's meeting in Mumbai stating that they wanted to spread the games around the country.
"Considering that twenty matches of the ongoing Pepsi IPL season were played overseas, the GC took a decision to try and take the Playoffs to as many different stadia as possible. Several venues had expressed their interest in hosting the Playoffs," BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said in a media statement.
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The other play-off games were also moved around. The first Qualifier which will be played between the first two placed teams in the points table will be staged at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, on May 27 at 8pm IST, with a reserve day kept in hand on May 28 incase of rain. It was originally scheduled to be held in Chennai.
The Eliminator match which will take place between the third and fourth placed teams has been moved from Chennai to the Brabourne stadium on May 28 at 8pm. This match will also have a reserve day.
The Qualifier 2 match to be played between the loser of the Qualifier first game and the winner of the Eliminator match has not been moved and will be staged at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on May 30 at 8pm. It will not have a reserve day.
The first leg of the tournament from April 16 to 30 was staged in the United Arab Emirates because of general elections in India.