IPL: Royals ahead in four-way joust to be the last team to make play-offs

It’s just the kind of last weekend of league matches that IPL would have been hoping for after another edition of meandering action over past two matches. With just three matches to go, including one on Saturday and a double header on Sunday, there are as many as four teams in with a mathematical chance of taking up the remaining fourth spot in play-offs.  

While Rajasthan Royals are in pole position to make the cut, Punjab Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals will want to give it their all and then hope the other results work in their favour. While Shreyas Iyer’s men take on the eliminated Lucknow Super Giants later today, Sunday’s fixtures are - Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals followed by Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Capitals.

A charged-up contest on Friday night, meanwhile, saw the top three for IPL 2026 being confirmed. Royal Challengers Bengaluru, reigning champions and table toppers set up a Qualifier 1 clash with Gujarat Titans despite losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. SRH scored a big win by 55 runs but were still unable to take over GT in the points table due to net run rate (NRR) and are set to finish third.

The cameras zoomed in on the post-match riutals when Virat Kohli chose not to shake hands with Travis Head when the teams came together. As the teams lined up for the customary handshakes, Kohli shook hands with SRH captain Pat Cummins and Abhishek Sharma but ignored Head, who had his arm outstretched to greet Kohli - before moving on to the next player in line. It was a fallout of an incident during RCB’s chase when Kohli was seen having an animated exchange of words with the Australian. It was not clear, though, as to what led to the exchanges.

Meanwhile, the fans of the four concerned franchises will now wait with bated breath to find out who qualifies to take on an in-form SRH in the eliminator next week. Royals, powered by an exhilarating season by Vaibhav Suryavanshi, enjoy a tangible advantage as they are the only side among the four with 14 points and all they need to do is win their last league match against MI at the Wankhede and qualify for the playoffs. Riyan Parag’s men hence have fate in their hands as if they can reach 16 points after the afternoon game on Sunday, the evening clash of KKR vs Delhi Capitals will be reduced to a dead rubber.

Incidentally, Royals can also qualify despite losing to MI but in that case, both Punjab Kings and the Knights must lose their respective matches. The inexplicable slump of Punjab, last year’s runners-up, is difficult to explain but they need to regroup for a final fling against a demoralised LSG this evening and stay in the race with a possible haul of 15 points. Starting the season with a bang, Shreyas Iyer’s men were leading the table at one stage till they began to look ragged and lost the last six games.

The Knights, looking the most improved team in the backend of the tournament with six wins out of their last seven games, are well poised to put it across a patchy Delhi Capitals in their last match at the Eden. KKR are on same points as PBKS (13 each), but they are behind the later on NRR. The only way Ajinykya Rahane’s men can qualify is to beat Delhi Capitals and hope that both PBKS and RR lose their matches – and their job will not be easy with mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy doubtful due to his tryst with a broken toe.  

Capitals, sitting in the eight-spot with 12 points, have the slimmest of chances. An unlikely victory over KKR would take them to 14, but Both Royals and PBKS are in a position to end with more than 14 points. The precondition for DC to qualify hence is that the Royals and PBKS must also lose - and DC will need to have a better NRR than Royals to qualify for the play-offs as the fourth-placed side.

Catch the match

Saturday: LSG vs Punjab Kings (Lucknow, 7.30 pm)

Sunday: MI vs Rajasthan Royals (Mumbai, 3.30 pm)

              KKR vs Delhi Capitals (Kolkata, 7.30 pm)