Rajasthan Royals needed a lot of stars to align if they were to reach the IPL play-offs. In their final group stage match on Saturday, 19 May, Ajinkya Rahane’s team did their bit and beat RCB by 30 runs to move 14 points in the standings.
However, they also needed both matches on Sunday to go their way.
With Chennai already through to the next stage, and Delhi out of the running, Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab both had a chance to topple Rajasthan and seal the fourth spot in the play-offs. All Mumbai needed to do was beat Delhi (since they had the best net run rate); or Kings XI Punjab needed to beat CSK by at least 53 runs.
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But somehow, both teams faltered; and now, Rajasthan Royals find themselves in the play-offs in their comeback season, following a two-year suspension.
Watch the players celebrate their qualification:
After Mumbai Indians were handed a defeat by Delhi Daredevils in the afternoon game, Kings XI Punjab batted first and posted 153 in their 20 overs against Chennai Super Kings.
Had they bowled CSK out for 100, Punjab would have gone through. Even though MS Dhoni pushed Harbhajan Singh to the top order, CSK never looked like they would oblige.
The moment Chennai scored 100 runs, Punjab’s net run rate dropped lower than that of Rajasthan. With the team failing to win the match, RR finished as the only team with 14 points after 56 matches of the group stage.
As things now stand, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings have finished first and second in the league, based only on SRH’s better net run rate. Kolkata Knight Riders, who won one more game than Rajasthan Royals, occupy the third spot with 16 points; RR, with 7 wins and 7 defeats, is the final team to qualify.
Upcoming Matches
- Qualifier 1: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Chennai Super Kings (22 May, Mumbai)
- Eliminator: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals (23 May, Kolkata)
- Qualifier 2: Loser of Qualifier 1 vs winner of Eliminator 2 (25 May, Kolkata)
- Final: 27 May, Mumbai
There are perks of finishing in the top two of the league stage. Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings both now get two chances to qualify for the finals. First, they play a qualifier among themselves, on 22 May. The winner automatically qualifies for the final, while the loser gets a second chance.
The teams that finished third, play in a knock-out game on 23 May. The winner of the match between KKR and RR then plays a second match this week – ‘Qualifier 2’ against the loser of ‘Qualifier 1’. The winner than makes it to the final on Sunday in Mumbai.
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