Today (May 24) is the most important day at the Indian Premier League (IPL). One playoff spot remains. Three teams. Two matches. And an entire season coming down to a few overs on Sunday.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad have already sealed their places in the IPL 2026 playoffs. Now, Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders are left battling for the final remaining ticket.
Delhi Capitals officially became the latest side to be knocked out after Punjab Kings comfortably defeated Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday night. That result completely shut the door on Axar Patel’s side, who could now only finish on a maximum of 14 points while PBKS have already moved to 15. Ironically, Punjab’s win has kept their own playoff hopes alive despite finishing all league matches.
Current points situation before May 24 matches
TeamMatches PointsNRRPBKS1415+0.309RR1314+0.083KKR1313+0.011DC1312-0.884Rajasthan Royals hold the cleanest path
Rajasthan Royals know exactly what they need to do against Mumbai Indians in the afternoon game: win and qualify. That is it.A
A victory takes RR to 16 points and officially knocks both Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders out of contention. After spending large parts of the season outside the top four, RR control their own fate again. But if they lose, they are done.
There is no backup route because PBKS already sit on 15 points. So for Riyan Parag’s side, it is a knockout game.
Punjab Kings forced into waiting game
Punjab Kings have done their part. After losing momentum badly midway through the season, PBKS recovered in time with a massive win over LSG to finish on 15 points and a healthy net run rate of +0.309.Now
they become Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals supporters for one day. Punjab qualify if:
MI beat RR KKR fail to overtake PBKS on NRRKKR need calculator and miracle
Kolkata Knight Riders are technically alive. Realistically, they need one of the craziest final-day turnarounds IPL has seen. First, they need RR to lose against MI. If Rajasthan win, KKR are immediately eliminated before even taking the field against Delhi Capitals.ThenThen
Then comes the hard part. KKR not only need to beat DC, they need to destroy them badly enough to leapfrog PBKS’ net run rate.
How much is enough for KKR?
ScenarioQualification RequirementIf KKR score 200 first Need to win by around 77+ runsIf chasing 180Need to finish chase in roughly 12 oversKKR’s net run rate currently sits at just +0.011, far behind Punjab’s +0.309. So even a comfortable win may not be enough.
IPL 2026 playoff qualification for May 24: RR, PBKS and KKR in fray as DC crash out Inside Sport India.
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