BBL 10 knockouts: How will the finalists of Big Bash League 2020-21 be decided?

BBL 10 knockouts: Contrary to other top T20 leagues around the world, Big Bash League has a provision for five teams in the knockout stage.

The ongoing 10th season of the Big Bash League is into its business end now. After 56 league matches which were played for more than a month, as many as five teams qualified for the knockout phase.

Contrary to other top T20 leagues around the world, Big Bash League has a provision for five teams qualifying for the second round. Given the amount of innovations which are don with respect to the rules in BBL, the same isn’t much of a surprise.

Sydney Sixers (36), Perth Scorchers (32), Sydney Thunder (31), Brisbane Heat (29) and Adelaide Strikers (28) ended up being the top five teams in BBL 2020-21.

BBL 10 knockouts

The first match of BBL 10 knockouts was played today between the fourth and fifth ranked team in Heat and Strikers respectively. Titled as The Eliminator, the match was won by Heat as they chased a 131-run target in the penultimate over with six wickets in hand.

Not to be 💔 Our season ends at the Gabba.#BlueEnergy #BBL10 #BBLFinals pic.twitter.com/2KgQecehav

— Adelaide Strikers (@StrikersBBL) January 29, 2021

The Qualifier, between the top two ranked teams in Sixers and Scorchers respectively, will be played tomorrow at the Manuka Oval as the winner will directly qualify for the final match to be played on February 6.

The Knockout, which will witness the third-ranked team in Thunder locking horns against the winner of The Eliminator (Heat), will again be played at the Manuka Oval on Sunday.

The winner of Thunder vs Heat will play the loser of The Qualifier in The Challenger on February 4. There is no point in guessing that this match will be played as a virtual semi-final.

While a five-match knockout fixture is rare to find in T20 leagues, BBL 10 should be able to entertain the fans with its unique round in the next week or so.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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