The IPL 2023 edition is already a big success. Every year, the league stage is decided by a single point. Teams are sometimes seen competing hard for one or more remaining playoff berths until the final day of league games. This year, the defending champions, the Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans (GT), are the only team to have secured a playoff spot while also finishing in the top two. With only four days left in the league round, as many as seven franchises are in contention for the remaining three slots.
The only club missing from this year’s edition are the Delhi Capitals (DC) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). So far, 64 of the 70 league games have been completed, resulting in a 91.42% completion rate, but the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Mumbai Indians (MI), Rajasthan Royals (RR), Punjab Kings (PBKS), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are still in contention to make the final four.
On Wednesday (May 17), the David Warner-led DC franchise upset PBKS by 15 runs in match 64, bringing Shikhar Dhawan and company closer to elimination while also complicating the playoff race.
Here’s what the remaining seven teams must do to secure one of the three available playoff spots and join Hardik’s GT –
Chennai Super Kings: A win over DC in their final league game on Saturday (May 20) in New Delhi will seal MS Dhoni’s Yellow Army’s spot in the last four. If RCB or MI lose at least one of their remaining games, they can potentially advance without adding to their point total (15).
Lucknow Super Giants: Krunal Pandya’s LSG defeated MI at home on Tuesday (May 17). As a result, they are also in a better position than other clubs. A win secures a playoff berth for them, and they can even advance with a loss if MI or RCB lose at least one game.
Mumbai Indians: With a win over SRH in their penultimate match and RCB losing at least one of their last two league matches, the five-time champions will secure a spot in the last four.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore: The RCB, led by Virat Kohli, may advance with wins in their next two games. As previously said, if the three-time runners-up lose one, it would benefit CSK and LSG, but the Bengaluru-based TEAM will have to rely on how MI, KKR, RR, and PBKS do in their last match. They now have a higher Net Run Rate (NRR) than MI, RR, KKR, and PBKS at +0.166.
Rajasthan Royals: After a strong start (four wins in their first five games), the Sanju Samson-led Royals have clearly lost their way. They have one more game against PBKS on Friday (May 19) in Dharamshala. They can still make the playoff if they win big and MI, RCB, and KKR lose their final games.
Kolkata Knight Riders: The two-time champions are still in with a chance of making the last four. If they beat LSG by a large margin, they can go beyond MI and then hope that MI and RCB lose their remaining games. Their path to the playoff is more tricky because they will still be dependent on the outcome of the PBKS-RR matchup. For Rana & Co.’s progression, they will pray for Punjab’s close win over the Royals or for the game to end in a draw.
Punjab Kings: A setback to Warner & Co. in Dharamshala has made life difficult for them. They are, however, still in the playoff race by the slimmest of margins. They must defeat RR convincingly and hope that MI, RCB, and KKR forfeit their remaining games.
If this occurs, MI and PBKS will finish with 14 points each, while RCB, KKR, and RR would finish with a dozen points each. Thus, NRR will be used between Mumbai and Punjab to determine which team would advance to the playoff.
GT is currently scheduled to compete in Qualifier 1 in Chennai. CSK and Lucknow stand a good chance of making the final four, while one of MI and RCB is also in the running. Nonetheless, IPL 2023 has already sprung several major surprises, so anything is conceivable in the next four days of league play.
In match 65, the Faf du Plessis-led Bengaluru franchise will face the bottom-ranked SRH in Hyderabad on Thursday (May 18).
Needless to say, all other teams will be watching the match as well.