How RCB And CSK can qualify for IPL 2024 Playoffs: The 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is nearing a thrilling conclusion, with just eight matches left in the group stage. Seven teams still remain alive in the race for the top 4. Kolkata Knight Riders have already secured their spot in the playoffs, making them the first team to do so this season.
Unfortunately, for fans of Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians, their playoff dreams have been dashed as they've been eliminated from IPL 2024 playoffs race. With the competition heating up, anticipation is building for the remaining matches as teams battle it out for a chance at IPL glory.
Super Sunday's double-headers treated fans to exciting wins for both Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their respective matches.
Chennai and Bengaluru will square off in their final league game, scheduled for Saturday in Bengaluru. While it's highly probable that either CSK or RCB will secure a spot in IPL 2024 playoffs, there's still a possibility that both teams could clinch a spot in the top four by the end of the league stage.
How Chennai Super Kings (CSK) can qualify for IPL 2024 Playoffs
If Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeat Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their final league stage game on Saturday, they'll move to max 16 points. However, the situation becomes more complex when considering the potential outcomes for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
SRH (14 points at present) can still reach a maximum of 18 points by winning their remaining league stage games, while LSG (12 points at present) can still finish the league stage with a maximum of 16 points. CSK (14 points at present) would comfortably qualify for IPL 2024 playoffs with a much superior Net Run Rate if both SRH and LSG don't surpass 14 points each. In this scenario, CSK would secure the 3rd position in points table by the end of league stage matches.
However, if both SRH and LSG end up with 14 points each and CSK fails to defeat RCB on Saturday, all three teams (CSK, RCB, and SRH) would finish the league stage with 14 points. In such a case, the net run rate would become the deciding factor in determining which team advances to IPL 2024 playoffs.
How Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) can qualify for IPL 2024 Playoffs
With Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) currently at 12 points, their path to the playoffs depends on a win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Saturday. Should RCB secure win against CSK, both teams would end the league stage with 14 points each. However, this may not be enough for either team to secure a playoff berth.
If both CSK and RCB end up with 14 points, the attention turns to the outcomes of the remaining matches involving Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). If SRH fails to win in both of their remaining matches, they would finish with a maximum of 14 points. Additionally, if LSG manages to defeat Delhi Capitals (DC) but loses to Mumbai Indians (MI), they too would end with 14 points, while DC would finish with 12 points.
In such a scenario, the net run rate would indeed become the deciding factor. If RCB meets the requisite criteria, they could still qualify for the playoffs based on their net run rate despite finishing with the same number of points as CSK and potentially other teams.