One spot, four contenders. The business end of the tournament, as usual, has come with drama and several possibilities as technically Sunrisers Hyderabad are the only team out of the playoff race. The Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab Kings and the Rajasthan Royals battle for the fourth and only spot remaining to qualify for the knock-out stage. 

With 50 matches done, the Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore have assured of a spot in the playoffs. Hyderabad have missed out for the first time since 2016. What remains undecided is who will finish in the top two rungs – a race between CSK, DC and RCB – and which team ends fourth.

Also read: IPL 2021: Mumbai Indians’ Ishan Kishan says Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya helped him during lean patch

Here’s what each of the sides has to do to ensure qualification to the IPL 2021 playoffs:

Kolkata Knight Riders:

Eoin Morgan and company have the best shot to qualify for the playoff stage. The 2014 champions have a superior run rate and a simple win in the next match is likely to take them through. KKR have 12 points in 13 games. For them to qualify, they need to win against the Rajasthan Royals in the next game and hope Mumbai Indians don’t secure a big win against Hyderabad. If Kolkata lose, they will hope that Mumbai loses too. 

Remaining game: vs RR (October 7)

Also read: IPL 2021: Rohit Sharma believes playing last will help Mumbai Indians in playoff race

Rajasthan Royals:

Rajasthan Royals’ bid to a playoff qualification is almost over. Their eight-wicket loss against Mumbai saw their net run rate plumate to -737. For Sanju Samson and company to qualify, they will need KKR and MI to lose really big. They will also have to secure a big win against Kolkata.

Remaining games: vs KKR (October 7)

Mumbai Indians

After winning by eight wickets and chasing a 91-run target in 8.2 overs, Mumbai Indians improved on their net run rate. But they need Kolkata to lose against Rajasthan and secure a win against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. In this case, KKR will finish on 12 points, whereas Mumbai take the fourth spot with 14. If KKR beat RR, only a big win can save Mumbai Indians. 

Remaining games: vs SRH (October 8)

  Also read: Kohli to De Villiers: Chris Morris lists toughest batsmen he has bowled to

Punjab Kings:

Though, like Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings are still in contention, KL Rahul’s team are highly unlikely to qualify. They can only get to 12 points and would require neither KKR, RR or MI to go past 12 points. For this, they have to beat CSK and then RR has to beat KKR and then MI has to lose to SRH. PBKS’s net run rate is -0.241 and it would require a big win against CSK

Remaining game: vs CSK (October 7)

Top two finish:

Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore – all three are in contention for a top two finish.