Lucknow Super Giants on Wednesday became the second team to qualify for the IPL 2022 playoff with a thrilling two-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders, who are now out of the reckoning. The only other team to qualify for the playoff is table-toppers Gujarat Titans.
It’s quite incredible that the two debutants are the first two teams to make it to the knockout stages. At the same time, it’s also quite incredible that with only four more matches to go in the league stage, five teams —Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad — are still in contention for the remaining two playoff spots, even if it is by the barest of margins.
RCB need to beat GT today to stay alive in IPL 2022 playoff race and even that could prove not enough. Sportzpics
Top spot confirmed for GT
Let’s start with the qualified teams. Gujarat are confirmed for the top spot even if they lose their last match against Royal Challengers Bangalore. GT currently have 20 points from 13 matches and no other side is in the position to leapfrog them in the table.
LSG fighting for second spot
Lucknow have qualified for the playoff but there’s a chance they might miss out on the second spot. The top two teams from the points table get two shots to qualify for the final and hence KL Rahul-led side will be hoping to finish at the second spot.
LSG are done with their matches and have 18 points from 14 games. Only Rajasthan Royals can get past LSG in the table. RR have a better Net Run Rate than LSG and need just a win in their last match against Chennai Super Kings to confirm the second spot. If they fail to win then LSG will play in Qualifier 1.
Here’s a look at the points table (As of 19 May morning).
| Position | Team | Matches | Won | Lost | NR | Net RR | Points |
| 1 | GT (Q) | 13 | 10 | 3 | 0 | +0.391 | 20 |
| 2 | LSG | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | +0.251 | 18 |
| 3 | RR | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | +0.305 | 16 |
| 4 | DC | 13 | 7 | 6 | 0 | +0.255 | 14 |
| 5 | RCB | 13 | 7 | 6 | 0 | -0.323 | 14 |
| 6 | KKR | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | +0.146 | 12 |
| 7 | PBKS | 13 | 6 | 7 | 0 | -0.043 | 12 |
| 8 | SRH | 13 | 6 | 7 | 0 | -0.230 | 12 |
| 9 | CSK | 13 | 4 | 9 | 0 | -0.206 | 8 |
| 10 | MI | 13 | 3 | 10 | 0 | -0.577 | 6 |
Let’s take a look at the playoff scenarios for other teams.
Rajasthan Royals (16 points, +0.304 NRR)
Remaining fixture: vs CSK on 20 May
As discussed earlier, RR are in the pole position to qualify for the playoff. With a victory over CSK, they will seal the second spot. They can still qualify despite losing to CSK as they are the only side among the contenders to have 16 points from 13 matches. There’s a mathematical chance of RR missing out on a playoff spot if they lose and DC and RCB win their matches but that’s highly unlikely to happen.
Delhi Capitals (14 points, +0.255 NRR)
Remaining fixtures: vs MI (21 May)
After RR, Delhi are the favourites to clinch a playoff spot. They have the strongest NRR among teams on 14. A win against MI should be enough for them to qualify but a defeat could give RCB a chance.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (14 points, -0.323 NRR)
Remaining fixture: vs GT on 19 May
The best chance of qualifying for RCB is to beat table-toppers GT by a huge margin and hope for MI to thump DC. In case RCB and DC both fail to win their match, they can be tied on 14 points with other teams, in which case NRR will decide the qualifying team and Bangalore have a very poor run rate.
Punjab Kings (12 points, -0.043 NRR)
Remaining fixtures: vs SRH (22 May)
PBKS will be eliminated if DC or RCB win their match. So to stay alive they need both the teams to lose their matches, besides winning their last match and having the required NRR.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (12 points, -0.230 NRR)
Remaining fixtures: vs PBKS (22 May)
Similar to PBKS, SRH’s fortunes rely on the fate of DC and RCB. To stand a chance, SRH need DC and RCB to lose their matches. They will also need to beat Punjab in their last match with a big margin to have the required NRR.
Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians are already out of the playoff race.
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