Cricket: IPL 2022 playoffs to start in Kolkata and end in Ahmedabad, Women’s T20 Challenge in Pune

The Indian Premier League 2022 playoffs will start from Kolkata and end in Ahmedabad while the Women’s T20 Challenge will be held in Pune, the Board of Control for Cricket in India confirmed on Tuesday.

The men’s IPL 2022 playoffs and final will be played from 24 May to 29 May in Kolkata and Ahmedabad. The Qualifier 1 will be held at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on 24th followed by the Eliminator on 25th. The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will host Qualifier 2 and the IPL final on 27th and 29th May respectively.

The Women’s T20 Challenges is returning after a one-season hiatus and the four-match event is confirmed now to be held in Pune, despite earlier reports suggesting Lucknow was going to play host.

The ongoing league phase of the Indian Premier League is being held in its entirety in Maharashtra across four venues to limit travel. Pune’s last IPL match is on 14 May and the Women’s T20 Challenge will then take place from 23 onwards. The Trailblazers led by Smriti Mandhana won the event last time when it was held in Sharjah, where the used pitches did not make for free run-scoring but perhaps the break this time around would provide better cricketing surfaces.

According to a report on ESPNCricinfo, IPL playoffs will be held in front of capacity crowds for the first time since the 2019 edition.