After Sunday’s double-header, a total of seven league games remain. IPL 2021 and three teams – DC, CSK and RCB – have already qualified for the playoffs. SRH, on the other hand, is out of contention. Now it boils down to four teams to grab a spot in the playoffs. Defending champions MI and the rest – PBKS, KKR, and RR are in the middle table for a fourth playoff berth. Interestingly, Mumbai Indians are ranked seventh and will need a big chunk of luck to make it to the playoffs. Here’s a look at the possible scenarios for playoff qualification:
IPL Points Table | purple cap | orange cap | IPL Schedule | IPL Full Coverage
KKR: Kolkata Knight Riders did well in a world of their own with a win over Hyderabad on Sunday and it puts them in pole position to take the last spot. how so? Well, they are two points clear of the rest of the pack, but the catch here is that they have just one more game left. After winning the final match against Rajasthan Royals on 7 October, their number will increase to 14 and if the rest of the teams win their remaining matches then they will also have 14-14 points. However the advantage here for KKR is that they are the only team with a positive NRR among MI, PBKS, RR. Since KKR will play RR, there is no way for both of them to reach 14 points. RR will have to win both their games to go to 14, which means that KKR, if they lose to RR, will be stuck at 12 and could find themselves out of the race for the playoffs.
PBKS: Similar to KKR, Punjab have one game left, and with their loss to RCB in their previous game, they have 10 points and can only go up to 12 points if they manage to win their last game, on 7 October against CSK. A tough question, no less. And not only that, if KKR win their game against Rajasthan, which incidentally, after PBKS’s game on the same day, PBKS will be knocked out even if they register a win against CSK. With a win over RR, KKR will have 14 to beat all the remaining teams.
RR: Rajasthan Royals have two games to play – one against Mumbai Indians and the other against Kolkata Knight Riders. A win against Mumbai Indians would keep their qualification chances alive, and most likely to beat Mumbai Indians in the process. They still need to beat KKR in their final game to make it to the long-awaited playoffs. Simply put, get two wins and reach 14 points, or else, depending on the results of the other teams and their NRRs. The fact that RR have to play teams that haven’t qualified yet puts them in a bind.
Mi: Mumbai Indians find themselves in a very difficult situation. They are tied with three other teams with two matches left, but the catch here is MI has the worst net run rate among those teams. Even though MI have relatively easy matches at SRH in their last league game, they will have to beat Rajasthan in their final match. RR are also in a race to make it to the playoffs, so it will not be an easy task. Two wins would take them to 14 points and they could be on points with KKR (provided KKR lose their last game). Then again NRR will come to play and currently, MI will not have a chance to qualify. But, if MI manage to win both their games by a huge margin and improve their NRR, and if KKR lose badly to SRH, there could be a chance. But, before MI takes the field against SRH in the final game on 8 October, it could be the end of it all for them if KKR beat SRH on 7 October.
RCBWith 16 points, RCB has qualified for the playoffs as the third team. They have two games left, so even if they lose their next two games, they will be joint-best in third place. No other team from MI, PBKS, KKR or RR can surpass their tally of 16, even though they will all do their matches, some of which will play each other, is impossible. RCB have to play Hyderabad and Delhi and now they will be eyeing top-two, DC and CSK are on 18 and after today’s game (DC vs CSK) one of them will reach 20 points, thus securing top-two To provide a distinct advantage to the team for reaching the finals. RCB will hope the team is CSK as Virat Kohli’s men will have a chance to beat Delhi and score points with the Rishabh Pant-led side and hope that NRR will come into play and they will finish in the top-two.
DC: Delhi Capitals have two matches remaining – one against Chennai and the other against Bangalore, which will be the final league game of IPL 2021. In fact, DC has no role in the fate of the other teams in the league. What they will try and aim to do is to maintain a top-two position in the playoffs, allowing them to advance to Qualifier 1. It won’t be an easy task but DC will take the confidence of defeating both RCB and CSK first. League. They could potentially end on 22 points with two wins. Even if they lose one with 20 points, they will still be in the top-two. Lose both, and they could sneak RCB into a top-two spot
Chennai Super Kings: CSK is in the same position as DC. Both teams are on points (18), with CSK leading the table for now, thanks to a better NRR. They will play Delhi today and Punjab on 7 October. A win against Punjab will kill KL Rahul’s team’s chances of qualifying. A loss to DC will not affect CSK much, provided they are up against PBKS. But, if they lose to PBKS as well, then if RCB can win their last two games, CSK can play themselves as the eliminator.
SRH: Hyderabad have suffered perhaps the worst season ever for any team in the history of the tournament. He has two matches left – one against Royal Challengers Bangalore and the other against Mumbai Indians. If they manage to win against RCB, it will put an end to RCB’s hopes of making the top two. And a win against MI will rest MI’s campaign in the tournament. But, even if they win both their games, lose both or claim one of the two wins, their position in the points table will remain the same. The game against MI on 8th October may eventually prove irrelevant if KKR win their game on 7th
get all IPL news and cricket score Here
.