As the IPL 2016 is nearing its end, there are six teams fighting for the top four spots in the points table, and cricket fans are eagerly waiting to know which four teams will qualify for the playoff stages.
There are seven more matches to be played until Sunday. As of now, all the six teams, apart from Rising Pune Supergiants and Kings XI Punjab (who are out of contention), have a chance to make it to the top four of the tournament.
The remaining matches are as follows:
#Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) vs Kings XI Punjab (KXIP).
#Gujarat Lions (GL) vs Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
#Delhi Daredevils (DD) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
#Rising Pune Supergiants vs Kings XI Punjab – this is a dead-rubber game and will have no impact on any other team.
#Gujarat Lions (GL) vs Mumbai Indians (MI).
#Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
#Delhi Daredevils (DD) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Now let us see where the teams are standing as of now and the scenarios under which they can make it to the IPL 2016 playoffs:
#Sunrisers Hyderabad – They already have one foot in the door with 16 points in their bag. As the Sunrisers Hyderabad's skipper David Warner had said, they will want to finish at the top of the table so that they get to play the Qualifier 1, winner of which will go straight through to the final while the loser will get another chance to reach the final. However, their remaining games are against Delhi Daredevils and KKR, which will not be easy to win at all.
#Kolkata Knight Riders - KKR, as usual, have been one of the consistent sides in IPL 2016 and are very close to making it to the playoff stages. They have had a few hiccups in the last few games but Gautam Gambhir and co. are confident of yielding positive results against SRH and the Gujarat Lions in their last two fixtures of the league stage. KKR currently have 14 points from 12 matches.
#Mumbai Indians – The defending champions face a do-or-die situation when they take on the Gujarat Lions in their last game of the league stage. They currently have 14 points from 13 matches and they just cannot afford to lose that game or their hopes of making it to the playoffs will be dashed. They will also make way for the other teams in the points table who are below them to take a shot at the playoffs.
#Gujarat Lions – Suresh Raina has done a commendable job in taking his team, who are a new franchise, to this level. They are definitely a tough team to beat in IPL 2016. They were ruling the table for quite some time but have wobbled recently. They will want to get back to their winnings ways against KKR and Mumbai Indians so that they can make their maiden IPL journey memorable. Having lost four out of their last five matches, Raina and co. will be desperate to improve their net run rate and win their last two games. The Gujarat Lions have 14 points from 12 matches.
#Royal Challengers Bangalore – After a poor start to the season, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers have helped their side resurrect their IPL 2016 campaign. They are one of the contenders for a spot in the final four of the tournament. RCB have 12 points from 12 matches, but they have a very good net run rate, which is better than that of any other team in the tournament currently. So in the last two matches, it has to be a two-out-of-two win scenario for the Men in Red and Black.
#Delhi Daredevils – After three poor IPL seasons, they have made a dramatic turnaround under the guidance of the legendary batsman Rahul Dravid. But of late, they seem to have lost the momentum that they had gained early on in the tournament. With 12 points from as many matches, they too have a chance of making it to the playoffs. But as always, it will never be easy against RCB and SRH.
Click here for the latest points table ahead of today's RCB vs KXIP game.
