Royal Challengers Bangalore will be up against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad as it looks to move ahead in the playoff race.
RCB is currently fifth with 12 points, and a win today will lift it above the Mumbai Indians into the final playoff spot.
Here is the updated points table after the PBKS vs DC match last night:
| Position | Teams | Matches | Won | Lost | Points | NRR |
| 1 | Gujarat Titans | 13 | 9 | 4 | 18 | +0.835 |
| 2 | Chennai Super Kings | 13 | 7 | 5 | 15 | +0.381 |
| 3 | Lucknow Super Giants | 13 | 7 | 5 | 15 | +0.304 |
| 4 | Mumbai Indians | 13 | 7 | 6 | 14 | -0.128 |
| 5 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 12 | 6 | 6 | 12 | +0.166 |
| 6 | Rajasthan Royals | 13 | 6 | 7 | 12 | +0.140 |
| 7 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 13 | 6 | 7 | 12 | -0.256 |
| 8 | Punjab Kings | 13 | 6 | 7 | 12 | -0.308 |
| 9 | Delhi Capitals | 13 | 5 | 8 | 10 | -0.572 |
| 10 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 12 | 4 | 8 | 8 | -0.575 |
A win for bottom-placed SRH will ensure the qualification of Lucknow Super Giants and Chennai Super Giants, who are level on 15 points. This would also put RCB’s progression in doubt, with Faf du Plessis’ men up against table-topper Gujarat Titans in their last league game.
Even if RCB wins both its games, its progression is not assured, as it would then have to hope either one of MI, LSG, or CSK fumbles in their last league game or that it finishes with a better net run rate (NRR) than the Mumbai outfit.
If RCB wins one game and loses the other, its qualification will hinge on SRH, which will be MI’s final opponent in the league stage. If MI wins that game, it will qualify for the playoffs, knocking out every other team on 12 points currently. But if SRH wins that game, there could possibly be a four-way tie on 14 points, where NRR will once again come into play. Of the five teams that could potentially end up in this tie, only RCB and the Rajasthan Royals have a positive NRR.
RCB’s net run rate received a huge boost after its massive 112-run win over RR, which in turn damaged the numbers of Sanju Samson’s men.
If RCB loses both games, it will be knocked out of the tournament.