Gujarat Titans have qualified for the IPL 2023 Play-Offs while seven teams are still in contention.
IPL 2023 has been a dream tournament for the fans!
The world's best cricket T20 league has lived up to its billing, throwing one thriller after another.
And there's still a lot more to come with defending champions Gujarat Titans qualifying for the Play-Offs, while seven teams are still in contention in the last few days of the league stage.
The top two teams at the end of the league stage will qualify for the Qualifier 1 match, with the winner going through to the final.
The losing team gets another chance as they play in the Qualifier 2 match against the winner of the Eliminator match -- played between the third and fourth placed teams.
A look at what the teams need to do to qualify for the Play-Offs:
Gujarat Titans (Qualified)
Gujarat Titans are the first team to make it to the Play-Offs.
GT outclassed SunRisers Hyderabad by 34 runs to assure themselves of a top-two finish and seal a place in Qualifier 1.
Titans have once again announced themselves as the big title favourites with nine wins from 13 games.
Remaining match:
May 21: vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Bengaluru, 7.30 pm IST.
Chennai Super Kings
CSK missed a golden opportunity to seal their Play-offs spot as they went down to the Kolkata Knight Riders at home on Sunday.
CSK need to just win their last match against Delhi Capitals to qualify for the Play-offs, which will take their tally to 17 points.
A loss could endanger their prospects as LSG (15 points), MI (14 points) and RCB (12) all have a good chance to leapfrog CSK.
CSK need a big win against Delhi to ensure second place as there is not much to choose between their and third-placed LSG's net run rate.
If CSK lose the match, they will hope that RCB, MI and LSG lose their last league matches and stay behind them in the points table.
Remaining match:
May 20: vs Delhi Capitals, Delhi, 3.30 pm IST.
Lucknow Super Giants
Lucknow Super Giants' superb victory against Mumbai Indians on Tuesday, May 16, boosted their Play-Offs.
LSG, who are on 15 points from 13 games, could also finish in the top two if they win against Kolkata Knight Riders and CSK (15 points) lose their final league match or if the former wins by a big margin to make up for the net run rate difference.
If LSG lose their last game, they will depend on other results like CSK losing by a big margin along with losses for MI and RCB.
Remaining matches:
May 20: vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Kolkata, 7.30 pm IST.
Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians, who are are fourth with 14 points from 13 games, will target a big win against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Along with beating SRH, MI will also hope that RCB loses one of their last two games, or one of either LSG or CSK slipping in their final league game, which would them ensure their qualification to the Play-Offs.
If RCB wins both their last two games and finishes level with MI on 16 points, the former could pip them on a much superior net run rate.
Also, if MI lose their last match against SRH, their current net run rate (-0.128) could slip further, giving the other teams like RCB or Rajasthan to sneak through.
Remaining match:
May 21: vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai, 3.30 pm IST.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
RCB stayed in the Play-Offs race with a thumping 112 run victory against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday.
The win was very crucial for RCB's hopes as they had lost three of their last four matches before that and another defeat could have ended their hopes.
RCB, who are on 12 points from as many games, will look to win both their last two games and avoid any complications.
If RCB lose against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday, then CSK and LSG will be guaranteed a place in the play-offs. In that scenario, RCB will need to win against Gujarat and also hope that MI lose their last match but that could possibly see four teams level on 14 points also including Kolkata Knight Riders and one among Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals, who clash on Friday.
RCB will look to win against SRH at all costs as they face a tough encounter against defending champions Gujarat Titans in their last league match.
Remaining matches:
May 18: vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Hyderabad, 7.30 pm IST.
May 21: vs Gujarat Titans, Bengaluru, 7.30 pm IST.
Rajasthan Royals
The Rajasthan Royals have lost four of their last five matches to drop to sixth with 12 points from 13 games. It remains to be seen if they are able to bounce back after being bowled out for a lowly 59 by RCB.
With MI and Punjab losing their previous games, Royals' hopes of making it to the play-offs are very much alive.
They face a do-or-die match against Punjab on Friday, with the winner staying alive and the loser getting knocked out.
If they win against Punjab it will take their tally to 14 points, while they will hope that MI and RCB suffer big losses in their remaining games.
Remaining match:
May 19: vs Punjab Kings, Dharamsala, 7.30 pm IST.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Led by some superb performances from Rinku Singh with the bat, a spirited Kolkata Knight Riders have kept their hopes alive despite the odds.
They upstaged CSK in Chennai on Sunday to stay in the hunt.
KKR, with 12 points from 13 games, enjoy a few days off before they take on LSG in their last league game on Saturday, May 20.
A loss will knock them out, but a win also doesn't guarantee them a place in the Play-Offs. They will depend on other results like RCB and MI suffering big losses.
KKR will target a big win against LSG to improve their net run rate (-0.256) ahead of MI (-0.128), Rajasthan (+0.140) and RCB (+0.166).
Remaining match:
May 20: vs Lucknow Super Giants, Kolkata, 7.30 pm IST.
Punjab Kings
Punjab Kings's Play-Off hopes suffered a big blow after their defeat to Delhi Capitals on Wednesday.
Punjab -- on 12 points from 13 games -- face a must-win match against Rajasthan on Friday.
Their net run rate (-0.308) is the worst among the teams in the hunt for the Play-Offs, hence they need to not only win big against Rajasthan but also hope the other teams in contention like MI and RCB suffer heavy losses.
Remaining match:
May 19: vs Rajasthan Royals, Dharamsala, 7.30 pm IST.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad's slim play-off hopes ended after they lost the match against Gujarat Titans on Monday, May 15, 2023.
SRH, who have struggled for consistency, managed just four wins from 12 games.
Remaining matches:
May 18: vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Hyderabad, 7.30 pm IST.
May 21: vs Mumbai Indians, Mumbai, 3.30 pm IST.
Delhi Capitals
Delhi Capitals are also out of the running for a place in the Play-Offs.
Delhi are bottom of the standings with just four wins from 12 games.
With pressure off their back, Delhi outclassed Punjab Kings with a thumping performance to endanger PBKS' Play-Off hopes, and will be hoping to do the same to Chennai Super Kings and finish the tournament on a high.
Remaining match:
May 20: vs Chennai Super Kings, Delhi, 3.30 pm IST.
Photographs: BCCI