Whoever thought qualifying for the IPL playoffs was easy was drunk. Actually, our stats guy needed to be drunk to take a look at the points table and analyze it. For starters, he had a bit of Rum and Coke and realized that the teams need to reach at least 16 points to have a chance to qualify.
Even without the alcohol it was clear that PWI and DD were out. KXIP and KKR were written off by us, but a tequila shot later it seemed they had a mathematical chance. Step 1, they need to win all their matches. Next, they need to visit every place of worship or Rajiv Shukla/Srinivasan's door and pray for Bangalore and Hyderabad to lose their matches by huge margins.
Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals are in no immediate threat. Just to be on the safe side, it wouldn't hurt them to win one more game.
The more intense battle is between RCB, MI and SH. If MI win tonight's match against Hyderabad, they are more or less secured of a spot in the playoffs. Again, it wouldn't hurt to win another match. If SRH win, they reach 18 points, jumping ahead of RCB on the points table. Then RCB need to win all their remaining 2 matches as well. If RCB win tomorrow against KXIP, then KXIP and KKR can say goodbye to IPL6.
The simple plan for all the teams is to win as many as possible and leave the rest to Sivaramakri....meaning God.
| Teams |
Matches |
Won |
Lost |
Tied |
N/R |
Points |
NRR |
Max. Possible Points |
Matches left vs |
| Chennai |
14 |
10 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
20 |
+0.551 |
24 |
DD, RCB |
| Rajasthan |
14 |
10 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
20 |
+0.506 |
24 |
MI, SRH |
| Mumbai |
13 |
9 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
18 |
+0.648 |
24 |
SRH, RR, KXIP |
| Bangalore |
14 |
8 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
16 |
+0.475 |
20 |
KXIP, CSK |
| Hyderabad |
13 |
8 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
16 |
-0.092 |
22 |
MI, RR, KKR |
| Kolkata |
14 |
6 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
-0.044 |
16 |
PWI, SRH |
| Punjab |
13 |
5 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
-0.018 |
16 |
RCB, DD, MI |
| Delhi |
13 |
3 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
-0.737 |
12 |
CSK, KXIP, PWI |
| Pune |
14 |
2 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
-1.314 |
8 |
KKR, DD |