The 19th season of the Indian Premier League has now moved towards its final stage, in which the 66th match of the league stage was played between Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings on 21 May. It was very important for CSK to win this match to keep themselves in the race to reach the playoffs, but they had to face a big defeat of 89 runs, with which their IPL season ended along with the league stage matches. At the same time, Gujarat Titans team has won their last match in the league stage and have scored 18 points, in which their net run rate is 0.695. While RCB, Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad have reached the playoffs till now, now only four teams remain in the race for one place, out of which Rajasthan Royals team seems to be in the strongest position.
The fate of Rajasthan Royals is in their hands
If we look at the points table of the IPL 2026 season after 66 league matches, Rajasthan Royals team is at fourth place in it, who have played 13 matches so far and in which they have won 7 matches, while they have faced defeat in 6 matches and have a total of 14 points. In such a situation, the fate of Rajasthan Royals is now in their hands to reach the playoffs, in which if they succeed in winning the last match of their league stage against Mumbai Indians on May 24, then they will easily secure their place in the playoffs with 16 points. But if they have to face defeat, then the situation will change for them in which they will have to pray for the defeat of both the teams Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders in their last league stage match.
These are the equations for Punjab Kings to reach the playoffs
The team of Punjab Kings, which held the number-1 position in the points table for a long time, is now at number 5 with 13 points in 13 matches due to losing 6 consecutive matches. However, it is still in the race to reach the playoffs. If we talk about the equations for Punjab Kings, then while they will have to win the match against Lucknow Super Giants on May 23, they will also have to improve their net run rate. Apart from this, they will have to pray for the defeat of Rajasthan Royals and KKR in their last league stage match. However, even if KKR wins, in that case both the teams will have 15 points each in which the decision will be taken on net run rate. On the other hand, if Rajasthan Royals wins its last match of the league stage, then it will reach the playoffs with 16 points.
The path to playoffs is still difficult for KKR
Kolkata Knight Riders who did not perform as per expectations in the initial phase but then managed to make a comeback, currently having a total of 13 points after 13 matches in the league stage. In such a situation, while KKR will have to pray for the defeat of Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings in their last league stage match, they will have to win the match against Delhi Capitals on May 24. On the other hand, if Rajasthan wins its match then it will directly make it to the playoffs but if it loses, the hopes for KKR will remain alive. In which Punjab Kings will have 15 points if they win the match, KKR will also have a chance to reach 15 points by winning their last match, but after this they will have to improve their net run rate as compared to Punjab Kings.
Delhi Capitals also in the race but hopes of reaching there are very low
The Delhi Capitals team, which is playing the IPL 2026 season under the captaincy of Axar Patel, is still in the race for the one spot left to reach the playoffs. However, the expectations of their arrival are quite low. Delhi Capitals currently have only 12 points in 13 matches and their net run rate is -0.871. In such a situation, while they will have to win their last league stage match against KKR by a big margin, they will also have to pray for the defeat of Punjab Kings and a big defeat of Rajasthan Royals in their last league stage match. So that according to better net run rate, they can make their place in the playoffs with 14 points. But its expectations seem quite low.
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SK Sharma is a content writer who writes on news, entertainment, and lifestyle topics. She has over four years of experience and is known for conveying information in simple and clear language.
