We are into seventh week of the Indian Premier League and already 54 matches league matches are played and left with two league matches and 3 teams waiting for the final playoff spot. Sunrisers Hyderabad, Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders have all booked their spots in the knockout stages and Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils are unquestionably out of quest. That leaves three teams – Rajasthan Royals, Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab with the chance. Before this take a look at IPL points table:
|
Pos. |
Team | P | W | L | T | NRR | Pts. |
| 1 | SRH | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 0.284 | 18 |
| 2 | CSK | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0.22 | 16 |
| 3 | KKR | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | -0.07 | 16 |
| 4 | RR | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | -0.25 | 14 |
| 5 | MI | 13 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0.384 | 12 |
| 6 | RCB | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0.129 | 12 |
| 7 | KXIP | 13 | 6 | 7 | 0 | -0.49 | 12 |
| 8 | DD | 13 | 4 | 9 | 0 | -0.29 | 8 |
The last day of league matches certainly going to be interesting one
Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals have the maximum points (14 points) out of the remaining three teams in the contention for the final spot but the net run rate is at lower side and they can’t do anything about it now. A win for Mumbai Indians against Delhi Daredevils today will shut the doors for Ajinkya Rahane led team Rajasthan Royals (RR) because they have poor run rate than Mumbai Indians. However, if DD beat MI, Rajasthan would need either CSK to beat KXIP by any margin or CSK to lose against KXIP by, approximately, not more than 53 runs, or with 38 balls to spare. Well, Royals will need both games to go their way in hopes of qualifying.
Mumbai Indians
With the elimination of RCB due to their loss to Rajasthan Royals on Saturday, Mumbai Indians now just need to win against Delhi Daredevils to qualify for the playoffs. Their win against DD will take them to 14 points and only MI have positive NRR of 3 remaining teams who are eagerly waiting to qualify for playoff spot. So, win is must for Mumbai Indians.
Kings XI Punjab
Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) started the tournament with five wins in six matches but lost their way with defeats in six of next seven matches. KXIP will need to perform very well and give there more than 100% because only victory will not confirm their spot because they still need to beat CSK by a big margin.
If MI beat DD at Kotla, KXIP will be out of the tournament. If DD beat MI, Punjab still have a chance, and if they want to go above Rajasthan Royals’ NRR, in that case they need to beat CSK by at least 53 runs or 38 balls to spare.
If KKR want to finish at the second spot in the points table, CSK need to lose to KXIP by 76 runs or 50 balls to spare.
