Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have sealed the top spot, while Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad have also confirmed themselves a top-four finish.And with Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) hopes only mathematically alive in their last match against Mumbai Indians, it boils down to the RCB vs CSK match in Bengaluru on May 18 to decide the fourth playoff team.
IPL 2024: Results | Points Table
Seventh place LSG’s negative net run-rate (NRR) of -0.787 leaves them with little hope, even though they have similar number of points (12) as RCB. But the Bengaluru team’s positive NRR of +0.387 makes them better placed. However, CSK, who have 14 points, enjoy the best NRR among the three, which reads +0.528. Because of that, RCB will have their calculators out to know the margins of victory they would need to leapfrog CSK.
The scenario turns the RCB vs CSK game into a virtual knockout.
In between the tense build-up to the match, a timeless tweet from former CSK and India captain MS Dhoni has resurfaced on microblogging platform ‘X’ (formerly Twitter).
Dating back to 2014, Dhoni’s tweet reads: “Doesn’t matter which team wins, I am here for entertainment.”
Qualification scenarios for RCB
In case RCB bat first and set CSK a target of 200 to win, then Faf du Plessis’s team will have to win by a minimum of 18 runs to go past CSK’s net run-rate and sneak into the playoffs.
If RCB chase a target of 201 or more, then they will have to win by a minimum of 11 balls to spare.
Qualification scenarios for CSK
The simple math for CSK is to win and go through. However, because the five-time champions have two points more than RCB’s 12, even a narrow defeat can take them through, provided their net run-rate remains superior compared to RCB’s.
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