Defending champions Gujarat Titans are the only team to have secured a spot in the top four of IPL 2023.
New Delhi: The race for the IPL 2023 playoffs intensified after Royal Challengers Bangalore rose to the fourth spot following their eight-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday at the Rajiv Gandhi stadium.
Defending champions Gujarat Titans have already cemented their spot in the top four with seven teams still fighting for the next three.
Two teams (Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants) are on 15 points each, two teams (Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore) on 14 points and three (Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals) are on 12 points each.
With just five games to go in the league stage, let us take a look at the prospect of each team of making it to the IPL 2023 playoffs.
Chennai Super Kings: The MS Dhoni-led side are second in the table with 15 points from 13 games and need a win against Delhi Capitals in their final game to advance through. If CSK lose, they will have to depend on other teams’ results to see their fate. If they lose, CSK would also hope thar RCB and Mumbai Indians lose too.
Lucknow Super Giants: The situation for Lucknow Super Giants is similar to that of CSK. Placed third with 15 points, the Krunal Pandya-led side need to register a win against Kolkata Knight Riders in their final group game to sail through. If they lose, LSG would also hope thar RCB and Mumbai Indians lose too.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Thursday’s win against Sunrisers Hyderabad has put RCB on the brink of qualifying for the playoffs. RCB need to beat Gujarat Titans to go through. Because of their net run rate, RCB (0.180) have a little cushion over Mumbai Indians (-0.128).
With Mumbai Indians playing their last before RCB, the Faf du Plessis will get to know what exactly is required from them when they go out at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. In case RCB lose, they will also need to pray that Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals lose too.
Mumbai Indians: For the five-time champions, Mumbai Indians would like to win against SRH and pray RCB lose to Gujarat Titans.
Rajasthan Royals: Four losses in the last five game have put Rajasthan Royals in a spot of bother. The inaugural champions are sixth wth 12 points and need a big win against Punjab Kings to go through. At the same time, Royals would also hope RCB and Mumbai Indians lose their respective games.
Kolkata Knight Riders: For the two-time champions, KKR need a much greater assistance from both RCB and Mumbai Indians. They would hope RCB and MI lose their lasts and win against LSG by atleast 78 runs to get ahead on NRR to advance.
Punjab Kings: The Shikhar Dhawan-led side need to beat Rajasthan Royals by atleast 94 runs and hope that RCB, KKR and Mumbai Indians lose their final games.
