IPL 2018: 7 major changes in the IPL over the years

#2 The knockout stage format

Until the third season, the knockout stages comprised of two semi-finals, a third-place playoff (only in 2010) and the finals. The playoffs format was introduced for the first time in the knockouts during the fourth season of the IPL and it comprises of four matches - the Qualifier1, Eliminator, Qualifier 2 and the final.

The table-toppers play each other in the Qualifier 1, whose winner directly qualifies for the final while the losing team plays the winner of the Eliminator contested between the third and the fourth-placed teams.

The team that wins the Eliminator qualifies for the Qualifier 2 and plays the losing team of Qualifier 1 and the winner of this game plays in the finals. An interesting fact about the playoffs format is that the teams finishing second in the league standings have gone on to win the title on numerous occasions.