With the league phase of the Pepsi Indian Premier League 2014 over on Sunday with Mumbai Indians' thrilling win over Rajasthan Royal, the final four teams for the play-offs have been decided.

While Kolkata Knight Riders will be taking on the formidable Kings XI Punjab in the first qualifier at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on Tuesday (May 27), Chennai Super Kings will meet Mumbai Indians in the eliminator at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on Wednesday (May 28).

The IPL 2014 play-off fixture is as follows:

As Punjab have proved to be the pacesetters this season, there is no doubt that the tie between Punjab and Kolkata will be the marquee game. Endowed with talented players in every department of the game, Punjab will start off as the favorites in the play-offs.

Previews and predictions of the two matches are as follows:

Kings XI Punjab vs. Kolkata Knight Riders

Led by Glenn Maxwell, who has hit 36 sixes in this tournament, Kings IX Punjab is packed with talented batsmen, who can turn out to be match winners against any opponent. Apart from the explosive hitter, David Miller, who has amassed 399 runs in IPL7 T20 so far, too is a productive striker of the ball. Although Kolkata won the match against Punjab when they last met on May 11, this time they should be wary of the Maxwell-Miller duo, which is in stupendous form.

In addition, Punjab skipper George Bailey is an accomplished all-rounder - an effective batsman as well as a penetrative medium-pace bowler. Bailey will play a vital role for Punjab at the Eden Gardens, as he seldom errs.

Even the team from Kolkata is a mercurial side, capable of dominating any opponent. Opener Robin Uthappa has been consistent all through and played a key role in his team's wins. While Uthappa has already earned the Orange Cap, he is being ably supported by hard-hitter, but streaky batsman Yusuf Pathan and skipper Gautam Gambhir, whose return to form has helped the team reach the play-off phase.

In fact, Kolkata should be indebted to the mystical West Indies spinner Sunil Narine, whose spells have mesmerized the opponent batsmen forcing them to relinquish their wickets.

Prediction

Although the game is expected to be a closely contested one, with Kolkata having a slight advantage of playing in their home ground, in all likelihood Punjab will emerge as the winner. In fact, Punjab have too much power and depth for the Knight Riders, even in Kolkata.

Chennai Super Kings vs. Mumbai Indians

Fresh from their emphatic win over Rajasthan Royals in their last league match on Sunday, Mumbai Indians will continue to be effervescent by the time they play the Eliminator against Chennai Super Kings on Thursday.

On Sunday, Mumbai fans witnessed the most exciting win of this season, which is just short of surreal. While Anderson and Ambati Rayudu thrashed the Rajasthan attack with all their might, while Aditya Tare hit a massive over-boundary in the last ball of the game to take the defending champions to the play-off phase.

The match once again proved that Mumbai's batting order can produce large scores. In fact, Lendl Simmons has scored the most runs in this tournament so far, while Core Anderson, who was picked in place of fast bowler Marchant de Lange, played the attack-shredding innings he had been bought to play.

Chennai too has star batsmen in the form of Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum. The pair can dominate at times, but, unfortunately, those times haven't been frequent for the Super Kings this season. In fact, Faf du Plessis proved to be the star man in Chennai's final game. The half century scored by him has helped Chennai to keep their hopes alive.

Despite the fact that Chennai are a well-rounded group, one that always seems like it could deliver more than it promises. Thus, the momentum is with Mumbai, and if Simmons and Anderson are in good form, they have the power to see Mumbai through.

Predicted winner: Mumbai Indians

The match will start at 10.00 a.m. EDT (2.00 p.m. GMT and 8.00 p.m. local time) and can be watched live on GoCricket.com and SkyCricket.net.