Royal Challengers Bangalore on the verge of exit from tournament. (Source: IPL)
It is that time of the year when the IPL table starts taking a definitive shape. 44 matches have been played thus far, taking Kolkata Knight Rider’s win against Kings XI Punjab on Saturday (May 12) into consideration, and at the end of it we have the Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Daredevils at the two ends of the table and as many as four teams or possibly five teams in the mix for a top-four finish in the group stage.
Sunrisers Hyderabad, Points: 18, NRR: +0.473, Current Place: 1st
SRH are the only team so far to be through to the playoffs. Having picked up 18 points in 11 matches it is mathematically impossible for any of the teams outside the to four to catch up with them. Even if they lose all of their upcoming matches, SRH will advance to the knockout stages.
Chennai Super Kings, Points: 14, NRR: +0.370, Current Place: 2nd
CSK are one of the two teams, the other being Rajasthan Royals, making their comeback this season. The MS Dhoni-led side have three games left to play in the group stage and are on 14 points. With fifth-placed Mumbai Indians on 10 points, CSK need to win their next two games to confirm their place in the playoffs. A win and favourable results elsewhere and CSK would be through as well.
Kings XI Punjab, Points: 12, NRR: -0.056, Current Place: 3rd
Kings XI Punjab limited some damage by keeping their margin of defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders down to 31 runs after conceding 245 in the latter’s innings. They remain third courtesy their net run rate. Their next three matches are against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. They have to beat RCB and MI to seal a spot in the playoffs. A defeat in either one of them will mean that their fate will be sealed only on the final day of the group stage matches. How things change with two straight defeats despite winning five in a row!
Kolkata Knight Riders, Points: 12, NRR: -0.189, Current Place: 4th
A big win over Kings XI Punjab would have helped them reach third but they did end up giving away 214 runs while defending 245. This means that they are fourth and, unlike the rest of their rivals for the playoffs spot, they have just two games remaining. They need to win both and keep a good net run rate to ensure that the Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals don’t catch up with them. While Mumbai’s trajectory are out of their control, KKR can do something about RR in their next match.
Mumbai Indians, Points: 10, NRR: +0.529, Current place: 5th
The defending champions are going through their annual upward curve time. They suffered a typically horrendous start to the season, losing four of their first six matches and are now typically coming to their own, winning three matches on the bounce and getting themselves to fourth spot. They shuffled back to fifth after KKR’s win over KXIP and have three games left in the season. The first two of those matches are against Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab and wins against them will mean that they are through to the playoffs. Because of their net run rate, which is higher than the two teams above them, Mumbai Indians could qualify even if they lose one and win two of their final three matches.
Rajasthan Royals, Points: 10, NRR: -0.484, Current place: 6th
Like Mumbai Indians, they have 10 points and have benefited from the two back-to-back wins in their last two matches. The next two matches are crucial for them as it is against Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders. Victories against both would virtually seal their passage to the playoffs.
Royal Challengers Bangalore, Points: 6, NRR: -0,361, Current place: 7th
It has been another disappointing season for RCB. Virat Kohli may say that they need to win all the matches they play from here on but the reality is that they also need a favourable set of results from a number of other matches between teams above them to reach the playoffs. The only reason they are still in consideration is that they have played only 10 matches so far.
Delhi Daredevils, Points: 6, NRR: -0.447, Current place: 8th
For all means and purposes, Delhi Daredevils are out of the competition. They have three games left to play, which means they can reach a maximum of 12 points, the same as that of fourth-placed Kolkata Knight Riders. To get to the playoffs spot, though, they need all the teams between them and the fourth place, to lose all their upcoming matches. That is impossible simply because most of those teams are playing against each other. If the fourth-placed team gets to 14 points, which will happen eventually, it becomes mathematically impossible for DD to reach the playoffs. For now, it is only mathematically possible but practically improbable.