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The schedule for the second phase of the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was released by BCCI on Monday (March 25). Contrary to the reports that the second half of the tournament might be shifted to UAE, the information proved untrue as the whole season will be played in India.
BCCI had earlier released just a part of the IPL schedule as the dates for the general elections date weren't released. With the election dates being released a few days ago, it gave BCCI the opportunity to chalk out the schedule for the remainder of the IPL.
The final comes back to the iconic Chepauk stadium in Chennai after 12 years and it will be a massive opportunity for the defending champions to lift their sixth title in front of a packed home crowd.
As far as the second half of the tournament is concerned, it will require enormous travel for a few sides while benefitting a few teams with most of their matches scheduled to be played on their home ground.
Having said that, let us have a look at three teams who could benefit from the scheduling of the second half of the tournament:
#1 Kolkata Knight Riders
Two-time IPL champions, Kolkata Knight Riders have a pretty sorted schedule for the second half of the tournament. KKR started their campaign with a hard-fought victory against the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
However, the Knight Riders will now travel to Bengaluru before heading to Visakhapatnam and Chennai for their next three games. The action returns to Kolkata on April 14 with Lucknow Super Giants slated to square off against the home team.
The next four matches for KKR will also be held at the Eden Gardens which will allow the players to get used to the conditions and also stay in the same place for around 20 days.
Then, they will travel to Mumbai and Lucknow before returning to Kolkata and will play their final two matches in Ahmedabad and Guwahati on May 13 and May 19 respectively.
#2 Punjab Kings
One of the perennial underachievers in the history of IPL, Punjab Kings will benefit from the scheduling of the second half of the tournament. With as many as three away games in the first four encounters, Punjab will get an opportunity to play most of their remaining matches at home.
Punjab is slated to square off against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on April 4 before they head back to Mohali for their next four games. They will lock horns against GT on April 21 before they head to Kolkata and Chennai for their next two games.
Dharmashala will host Punjab's next two games against Chennai and RCB while they finish their league phase with matches in Guwahati and Hyderabad against Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad, respectively.
#3 Chennai Super Kings
The most successful franchise in the history of IPL alongside Mumbai Indians, the Chennai Super Kings have started off their 2024 campaign with two wins. They start their campaign with a couple of home games, followed by a couple of away games.
They will again return to Chennai for the April 8 game against the Kolkata Knight Riders before traveling to Mumbai and Lucknow for their next two matches. However, the Chennai players will get an opportunity to play three consecutive home games against the Super Giants, Sunrisers, and Kings.
While there is a bit of travel going around, it's much less compared to the other seven teams. They will fly back to Chennai for their penultimate group game on May 12 against the Rajasthan Royals before finishing their group stage at Bengaluru.
