The IPL Playoffs Scenario | Explained

Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear!

Just nine days remain till the IPL playoffs get underway but only one team, KKR, has qualified so far. With one berth locked down, each passing moment, the decisive battle for the remaining three spots continues to get more and more aggressive.

Who will make it through and who will perish? Here is a quick breakdown of the seven contenders and how stubborn their final push needs to be.

For starters, this is what the points table currently looks like.

Kolkata Knight Riders have qualified for the playoffs with 18 points after defeating Mumbai Indians on May 11, 2024.

They are followed by Rajasthan Royals, who have 16 points and need to win their next three fixtures to make it through.

On the third spot are Pat Cummins' men, the Sunrisers Hyderabad with 14 points and a positive NRR of 0.406 and trailing them are the struggling bunch of Chennai Super Kings having collected 12 points so far.

The mid-table is where the battle gets the most interesting.

Along with CSK, Delhi and Lucknow also have 12 points and the three are just separated by net run-rates. Resurgent fighters RCB and Gujarat make up seventh and eighth positions with 10 points each.

Bottom-placed Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings will play two more games apiece but winning them will have no bearing on their playoff chances. They are already out of contention.

Now, the question remains, which teams will breeze through and who will fall apart trying?

KKR & RR
The table-toppers did not have to break a sweat to get the 'Q' next to their name.

Now, the challenge for KKR is to retain their top spot by winning their next two fixtures while RR have to score a solitary win to qualify for the playoffs.

Even if Rajasthan fail to win all three games, they can still qualify with 16 points, given their net run-rate (NRR) does not take a massive blow.

SRH
The 2016 champions seem to be in a comfortable spot and need another win to qualify for the playoffs. If they manage to win their upcoming clashes against Gujarat and Punjab, they might even dislodge one of the top 2 to make the first qualifier.

CSK and SRH both have 14 points each, in case of two losses, Hyderabad's campaign can be saved through NRR if CSK, along with the winner of DC vs LSG, lose a fixture each.

CSK, DC & LSG
The middle of the table is very crowded. Three teams are in the fray and apart from their own games, they will count on other results to be in their favour. The troika of CSK, DC and LSG have 12 points each, separated by NRR.

DC and LSG have negative net run-rates so it becomes easier for CSK to qualify with two straight wins, provided SRH lose their remaining two fixtures and the winner of DC vs LSG lose their other game.

But if SRH and CSK both end up at 16 points, along with the winner of the DC vs LSG match, the team with the worst NRR of the three will have to bid farewell to IPL 2024.

RCB & GT
Late-bloomers RCB and GT have the slimmest of chances of making it to the final four. For starters, both teams have 10 points each and apart from winning their remaining fixtures they will have to hope that at least two from the CSK-DC-LSG-SRH quartet don't go past 14 points.

Even after that, it will come down to NRR and Gujarat have fared the worst so far at -1.063. On the upside, RCB have a slightly better NRR than LSG and DC.

But if Hyderabad were to beat Punjab, and Lucknow manage to prevail over Delhi and Mumbai, it could be end of the road for RCB and GT.