IPL 2022 Playoff qualification: With Indian Premier League entering the final week of league phase, three places are up for grabs.
Gujarat Titans are the only team to book a spot. Rajasthan Royals, Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals are potentially going to be the remaining three. But like the IPL, it would be premature to celebrate early – just ask LSG who were cruising along up until a week ago. Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad are still in with a chance but their hopes are slim and fate not in their hands.
At the bottom of the pyramid, five-time champions Mumbai Indians and four-time winners Chennai Super Kings are out of reckoning.
Delhi Capitals beat Punjab Kings by 17 runs to boost their chances of making the IPL playoffs. Image: Sportzpics
DC’s 17-run win over PBKS helped their chances of making the knockouts but came as a bitter blow for the rest on Monday (16 May). Before jumping into the scenarios, a quick look at the points table.
IPL Points Table on 16 May
Position
Team
Matches
Won
Lost
NR
Net RR
Points
1
GT (Q)
13
10
3
0
+0.391
20
2
RR
13
8
5
0
+0.304
16
3
LSG
13
8
5
0
+0.262
16
4
DC
13
7
6
0
+0.255
14
5
RCB
13
7
6
0
-0.323
14
6
KKR
13
6
7
0
+0.160
12
7
PBKS
13
6
7
0
-0.043
12
8
SRH
12
5
7
0
-0.270
10
9
CSK
13
4
9
0
-0.206
8
10
MI
12
3
9
0
-0.613
6
IPL 2022 Playoff scenarios
Rajasthan Royals (16 points, +0.304 NRR)
Remaining fixture: vs CSK on 20 May
Lucknow Super Giants (16 points, +0.262 NRR)
Remaining fixture: vs KKR on 18 May
RR and LSG are in the same boat. Both have their fates in their hands and are not dependent on the others with a game left each. RR are second and LSG third in the points table. RR, LSG need to avoid a big defeat vs CSK, KKR respectively or they would have to bank on their positive net run rate to get them out of a logjam.
For either to miraculously get knocked out, they’d have to lose by a big margin, RCB to beat GT and DC to defeat MI.
On the other hand, they can finish in the top two depending on the outcome of their respective last matches.
Delhi Capitals (14 points, +0.255 NRR)
Remaining fixtures: vs MI (21 May)
Back-to-back wins over RR and PBKS have boosted not just DC’s morale but also their hopes of qualifying. To find themselves in a good place despite the COVID-19 affected season they’ve had is a massive feat. A win against MI will take them through. If DC win and both RR, LSG lose, Delhi could jump to top-two.
In case DC lose, they can go through provided GT thump RCB. But that would mean four teams would be on 14 points which would leave NRR as the tiebreaker.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (14 points, -0.323 NRR)
Remaining fixture: vs GT on 19 May
RCB’s abysmal net run rate of -0.323 has their chances stacked against them. So they desperately need DC to lose their final match. So for RCB fans, here’s the equation: beat table-toppers GT and hope DC beat MI.
Kolkata Knight Riders (12 points, +0.160 NRR)
Remaining fixtures: vs LSG (18 May)
The positive: Their run rate of +0.160 has them in with a good shout provided results align their way. The negative: need TWO teams to lose their matches. KKR have to win their last match and hope DC, RCB lose theirs.
Punjab Kings (12 points, -0.043 NRR)
Remaining fixtures: vs SRH (22 May)
PBKS’ chances of qualifying have taken a massive beating after being unable to chase a modest total against DC. Their net run rate has dropped to negative after that loss. So PBKS now need to win by a big margin to help themselves.
The fact that they are the last to play a league fixture does help knowing whether they’re in with a chance at all or not. And if they are, they would know what to do to achieve it. But all that will be moot if DC or RCB win their last match.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (10 points, -0.270 NRR)
Remaining fixtures: vs MI (17 May), vs PBKS (22 May)
SRH and MI are the only teams with two matches left but Hyderabad can only get to 14 points. Even if they win both by a reasonably high margin, their net run rate of -0.270 doesn’t exactly help. Even in that case, DC have to lose big as well. So SRH fans, this looks tough but not beyond the realm of possibility.
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