IPL 2020 Playoffs: Qualification scenarios for each team

Mumbai Indians (MI) became the first team to qualify for the playoffs in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020. MI reached the knockouts after Chennai Super Kings (CSK) beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by six wickets on Thursday. Moreover, the Chennai-based franchise is also the only side to be out from the contention of making it to the playoffs. So, currently, six teams are fighting for three remaining spots in the next stage of this year’s season. Here are the IPL 2020 qualification scenarios for all the teams.

Current situation of the 6 sides

Royal Challengers Bangalore | 2nd Position | 14 Points | Remaining Fixtures: SRH and DC

The job for Virat Kohli’s men is to win one of their remaining two matches to seal a berth in the playoffs. If they win both of them, then RCB will finish in the top two at the Points Table. Virat Kohli and co will have to depend on other teams’ results if they lose all their remaining encounters.

Delhi Capitals | 3rd Position | 14 Points | Remaining Fixtures: MI and RCB

Delhi Capitals will play their next game after three consecutive losses that hampered their Net Run Rate. But they are still in a great position to enter the playoffs of IPL 2020. Their current situation is the same as that for the Royal Challengers. Even if they win one of their remaining two fixtures, the Capitals will be through to the playoffs, without even thinking about their NRR.

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Kings XI Punjab | 4th Position | 12 Points | Remaining Fixture: CSK

The Punjab-based franchise suffered a halt to their 5-match win streak after losing against Rajasthan Royals. They will now face CSK in a must-win clash and hope that the winner of the RR-KKR game doesn’t win it by a massive margin. Moreover, they further want the Sunrisers to lose at least one of their two remaining games.

Rajasthan Royals | 5th Position | 12 Points | Remaining Fixture: KKR

Steve Smith and co kept their hopes alive for reaching the playoffs with two comfortable victories in their last two clashes. They will now face the Knight Riders in their ultimate fixture of the season. A victory in that game will lead them to 14 points, keeping them further alive in IPL 2020. If they win, RR will hope for a win for CSK against KXIP and SRH losing one of their remaining matches.

Kolkata Knight Riders | 6th Position | 12 Points | Remaining Fixture: RR

At one stage of the tournament, KKR looked in great shape as the fourth team to enter the knockout stage. But with three losses in four matches, they slipped to the sixth spot in the Points Table. They now stand in a similar situation like KXIP and RR. With a victory against the Royals, they will reach 14 points. They will then want a win for CSK against KXIP and the Sunrisers losing at least one of their remaining matches.

Sunrisers Hyderabad | 7th Position | 10 Points | Remaining Fixture: RCB and CSK

The situation for Sunrisers Hyderabad is comparatively easier to understand. If they win their remaining two encounters, a playoffs berth will get confirmed for them. A loss in even one of them will rule them out from the 13th season of IPL. The Net Run Rate is not an issue for them as their NRR of +0.396 is the second-best amongst all eight teams.

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