BBL: Cricket Australia Introduces A New Format For The Knockouts

Cricket Australia has disclosed the schedule for the ninth season of the Big Bash League(BBL). Brisbane Heat will host Sydney Thunder in the league opener at the Gabba on December 17.

Defending champions Melbourne Renegades will also play their first game against Sydney Thunder on December 19.

The BBL has brought a new format regarding their knock-out system from the 2019-20 season onwards. They have named it as five-team finals series.

Just like the past seasons where the top four teams qualify for the semi-finals and with three-match knockouts won’t be continued for the coming season.

The five-team finals series includes the Eliminator, the Qualifier, the Knock-Out, the Challenger and the Final.

The top five teams finishing with the most points on the table are qualified for the knock-out stage. This is something unique  Cricket Australia has planned out, here the fifth team has the chance to lift the trophy only after winning all the four matches.

The five-match series

1. The Qualifier:- The teams that finish first and second on the points table will play the match and the winner will directly book its place in the final match. The loser still gets a second chance to play the Challenger game.
2. The Eliminator:- The fourth and the fifth team will play the match and the winner goes through the Knock-Out round whereas the loser gets eliminated from the tournament.
3. The Knock-Out:- The winner of the Eliminator match will face the third-ranked team on the points table and the one who wins moves for the Challenger game.
4. The Challenger:- The winner of Knock-Out game and the loser of the Qualifier match will play against each other to reach the finals.
5. The Final:- The winners of the Qualifier and Challenger round will meet in this round to fight for the title.

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Just like IPL (Indian Premier League) and the CPL (Caribbean Premier League) which already plays with 2 Qualifiers and an Eliminator match before the Final match. BBL has also adopted the format by implying a new structure to it.