Eden Gardens, Brabourne to host Qualifier and Eliminator

The IPL Governing Council today decided to allot one of the two qualifiers to Kolkata's Eden Gardens, while one of the Eliminators to Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
The decision was taken after TNCA (Tamil Nadu Cricket Association) wrote a letter to the IPL GC, expressing their inability to host the four matches, including the two home games of Chennai Super Kings on May 18 and 22.
The matches will now be held in Ranchi, which is the second home venue for the 'Yellow Brigade'.
Eden Gardens got compensated for missing out on the May 14 clash between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians, which was shifted to Cuttack due to security related issues in the wake of ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

"CSK has been using Ranchi as its alternate home venue for this Pepsi IPL season, and will continue to do so, for the remainder for the season," a release issued by the BCCI said.
It further stated that "GC appreciated the support of the Jharkhand State Cricket Association and Orissa Cricket Association in agreeing to host the Pepsi IPL 2014 matches at such a short notice".

As far as allocation of Qualifier and Eliminator are concerned, the GC wanted to spread it to as many centres as possible.
"Considering that 20 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," the release stated.

The GC also discussed the ugly on-field spat between Kieron Pollard and Mitchell Starc during their Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore match on May 6.
"The members expressed their dismay at the incident, and unanimously expressed the view that the game in question was not played in the right spirit. It was decided to address these concerns by reiterating to all the captains, coaches and team managements featuring in the Pepsi IPL 2014 that such incidents should not be repeated," the release stated.