After a dramatic final day of the league phase, the IPL is reaching its climax with just four teams remaining as the tournament heads into the home straight. Gujarat Lions take on Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday with the victors advancing straight to Sundays final.Defeat will not spell the end for the losing side, though, as they will be given another shot to reach the final when they play the winners of the clash between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders. IPL knock-out stage on Sky Sports Tues: Gujarat v RCB (3pm, SS1) Wed: Sunrisers v Kolkata (3pm, SS1) Fri: IPL qualifier (3pm, SS1) Sun: The final (3pm, SS5) A pulsating play-off campaign awaits but how have the lucky quartet got this far and who have been their stars? We take a look…GUJARAT LIONS Aaron Finch started the competition in blistering form for the Lions League position: FirstTop run maker: Suresh Raina (397)Top wicket taker: Dwayne Bravo (15)Unheralded star: Dhawal KulkarniLeague-stage story: The newly-formed team got off to a flyer by winning six of their first seven games, including a couple of last-ball classics against Rising Pune Supergiants and Delhi Daredevils, to put themselves in a strong position to qualify with Aaron Finch looking unstoppable. An injury to Finch and a run of three straight defeats allowed the chasing pack to catch up, but they finished strongly to finish top of the pile. Gujarat Lions Aaron Finch discusses his sides journey to the IPL play-offs and moving up and down the batting order While Finch struggled to rediscover his best form, Suresh Raina stepped up and with Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith also in their ranks, they do not lack hitting power. With the ball, Dwayne Bravo remains the standout but was ably assisted by Dhawal Kulkarni, who took 14 wickets, and Praveen Kumar.ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE Virat Kohli has been imperious throughout for RCB League position: SecondTop run maker: Virat Kohli (919)Top wicket taker: Yuzvendra Chalal (19)Unheralded star: Lokesh RahulLeague-stage story: With a batting line-up that boasts Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle and Shane Watson it is perhaps little surprise that RCB have made it through to the play-offs. However, just two wins in their first seven games showed there is more to T20 than just batting with the deficiencies in their bowling attack clear to see. Chris Jordan was drafted in help out and while the Englishman did well, it is hard to look past the RCB batsmen, in particular Kohli and De Villiers when explaining their sharp upturn in fortunes. Michael Carberry, Dominic Cork and Mark Butcher look back at an incredible partnership between Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers Kohli is on course to become the first player to reach 1,000 runs in an IPL campaign, having hit four tons and six half-centuries, the Indian making De Villiers one century and five half-centuries look like a meagre haul! Even after five wins in six, RCB still needed to beat Delhi in the final game of the league phase to reach this stage but, again, Kohli stepped up to see them home by six wickets. They are very much the team in form.SUNRISERS HYDERABAD Sunrisers Hyderabads David Warner has led form the front League position: ThirdTop run maker: David Warner (658)Top wicket taker: Bhuvneshwar Kumar (18)Unheralded star: Barinder SranLeague-stage story: Captain David Warner has been in sparkling form for the Sunrisers, who, after two early defeats, won seven of their next eight matches to all-but seal their place in the top four. They slipped to defeat in three of their final four fixtures, though, and the worry for them may be that they have lost form at just the wrong moment.They can take comfort in the fact that Warner, at least, shows no signs of slowing up with two half-centuries in that run, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Barinder Sran have performed consistently throughout. Mustafizur Rahman, meanwhile, has arguably been the bowler of the tournament but has shown signs of fatigue in the past couple of games.KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS Fresh from World T20 success, Andre Russell has excelled at KKR League position: FourthTop run maker: Gautam Gambhir (473)Top wicket taker: Andre Russell (15)Unheralded star: Sunil NarineLeague-stage story: The two-time IPL champions sneaked into the top four with victory over the Sunrisers on the final day of the league phase. However, after four wins from their first five games, the Knight Riders would have hoped to have secured qualification far sooner, only to win just two of their next five. They remained in a strong position, though, going into their final four games, but defeats to RCB and Gujarat Lions kept them waiting until the last.Captain Gautam Gambhir has been the main man with the bat, with his opening partner Robin Uthappa also making a number of useful contributions and the experienced Yusuf Pathan finding form at just the right time. Andre Russell has starred with the ball taking 15 wickets, while Sunil Narine has been as economic as ever since his return, claiming 11 wickets. See whether Gujarat or Bangalore clinch an immediate place in the IPL final, from 3pm, Tuesday, Sky Sports 1, before finding out who gets dumped out when Sunrisers Hyderabad tackle Kolkata Knight Riders, from 3pm, Wednesday on the same channel. Also See: IPL table IPL videos Get Sky Sports Enter the IPL Zone Clearance Nike Air Max 270 . The 24-year-old Raley was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA for Chicago in his first two career starts after being called up from Iowa on Aug. 7. He was optioned to Iowa on Monday after losing 3-0 to Cincinnati in Chicago on Sunday. Wholesale Nike Air Max 270 . -- The Detroit Lions made it crystal clear to Golden Tate that he was their top target in free agency. https://www.cheapnikeairmax270china.us/ . Though the 26-year-old said he was able to participate, coach Dwane Casey kept Johnson out as a precaution. Nike Air Max 270 Outlet . A night later, he was back to help lead a rout of the Detroit Pistons. John Wall had 20 points and 11 assists, and Beal scored 10 of his 15 points during the second quarter as Washington pulled away for a 106-82 victory on Saturday. Nike Air Max 270 Sale . Then he got back at the team that released him five days before the start of last season, hitting a tiebreaking double in the ninth inning of the first game at Fenway Park since Boston won the World Series last October.KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The game had been over for hours. Kauffman Stadium had gone dark. The roars of a sold-out crowd, which had rooted the Kansas City Royals to a sweep of the mighty Los Angeles Angels, had drifted away into the cool night air.A few miles away, at a bar and grill called McFaddens, the party was just beginning.Greg Holland had showed up, the All-Star closer watching with a grin as highlights of the game played on television. Salvador Perez and Jarrod Dyson, both integral parts in the Royals playoff push, posed with fans for more pictures than they could count. First baseman Eric Hosmer put down his credit card and for a full hour picked up the tab for hundreds of strangers.Its fun to get to enjoy it with the whole entire city. Its a special time, Hosmer said a few days later. I think the buildup to this, its been so long. Theyve been hungry for a winner. What were doing now has just been a blast.So much so that Hosmer didnt mind his credit card taking a hit — he shared the $15,000 bar bill with some teammates — after beating the Angels in their AL Divisional Series.We realize how bad the fans want it, how bad the city wants it, Hosmer explained. I think this team symbolizes the attitude of this city — tough, were not going to quit and were going to fight to the end. Its a pretty special bond weve created.Its a pretty rare bond, too, in modern professional sports.As the Royals prepare to play the San Francisco Giants in the World Series on Tuesday night, capping their first post-season appearance since winning the title in 1985, the relationship they have established with their long-suffering fans harkens back to a bygone era.Its reminiscent of a time when players lived in the same neighbourhood as working-class fans, because they too were working class. When they had to find off-season jobs just to make ends meet, long before million-dollar contracts. When you walked into the barbershop or the supermarket and would see Duke Snider or Red Schoendienst getting a trim or perusing the vegetables.Only now, players and fans are connecting over drinks at a bar in the trendy Power and Light District of Kansas City. Or theyre connecting on Twitter in 140-word bursts.Didnt hear about that one? Well, life-long Royals fan Nicholas Knapple didnt have the cash for playoff tickets, so he messaged a few players on Twitter with a pplea.dddddddddddd. One of them was Brandon Finnegan. The rookie pitcher promptly hooked him up.Knapple found himself watching Game 3 of the AL Championship Series against the Baltimore Orioles with his girlfriend and Finnegans mom — and an entire section filled with friends and family of other Royals players.After the seventh inning, his mom told us we were going downstairs for the celebration, Knapple said in a phone interview. So after the game, we got to go down outside the clubhouse. We got to meet Danny Duffy, take pictures. It was unbelievable.About as unbelievable as the Royals post-season run.The happy marriage between the Royals and their fans was a rocky relationship earlier this summer. Third baseman Mike Moustakas was getting booed off the field. Manager Ned Yost had gone back to using an alias when he ordered at Starbucks. Even longtime designated hitter Billy Butler was starting to feel the wrath of a fan base that had been pining for success.Then two fans popped onto the Royals radar, and things seemed to change.One was Tim Grimes, a 28-year-old fan battling Stage 4 cancer. Doctors gave him a 5 per cent chance of surviving the next 18 months. He is spending it relishing every pitch and every hit.The other was SungWoo Lee, a fan from South Korea. He wakes up in the middle of the night, every night, to watch the Royals online. In August, he finally made it to Kansas City.Perhaps it was coincidence, perhaps it was fate. But at the same time their stories were told, the Royals started to win. They climbed out of a deep hole in the AL Central, made a big push for the pennant, and then qualified for the wild-card game.Then they rallied from a four-run hole to beat the Oakland Athletics in 12 dramatic innings.I think thats really when it all came together, said Bob Fescoe, the host of a popular morning talk show on 610 Sports in Kansas City. The players saw the way the fans reacted, and the way fans cheered for them and stayed through that entire game.In fact, they keep staying through games, until long after theyre over. When the Royals clinched their first pennant in 29 years, security had to begin ushering them out of the ballpark so the cleaning crews could begin their work.No matter. There was almost certainly a party they could go to somewhere.Good chance that some of the Royals were already there. ' ' '