Explained: IPL 2022 Playoffs Scenarios– Who Needs What To Qualify?

The IPL 2022 approaches the business end with five more league stage matches left for this week.

After 65 matches in the tournament, only Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans have secured a place in the IPL 2022 playoffs while heavyweights Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have already been eliminated.

The rest of the teams will not just need to boost up the morale of the team but also sit with calculators and pen and paper to check on the chances for a finish in the top four.

Let us dissect the IPL 2022 playoffs scenario for each of the seven teams vying for a spot in the knockout stage.

Before we go ahead with the permutations of the IPL 2022 playoffs, we would like you to have a look at the remaining fixtures this week.

May 18 (Wednesday): Kolkata Knight Riders vs Lucknow Super Giants

May 19 (Thursday): Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Gujarat Titans

May 20 (Friday): Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings

May 21 (Saturday): Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals

May 22 (Sunday): Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Punjab Kings

IPL 2022 playoffs permutations: Who needs what to qualify?

RR and LSG are placed at second and third positions respectively with 16 points while DC and RCB are locked at 14 points at the fourth and fifth spots. KKR, PBKS, and SRH have collected 12 points after playing 13 games.

Let us go through each of the seven side’s chances of making the cut in the IPL 2022 playoffs.

Rajasthan Royals (RR)

The Sanju Samson-led side is in the driver’s seat to secure a berth in the playoffs after a 24-run win over LSG in their last match.

A win against CSK will guarantee RR a top-two finish on the table and face Gujarat in the Qualifier 1 on May 24.

A loss won’t hinder their playoff chances unless they suffer a heavy defeat but that would only count if LSG, RCB, and DC all finish on 16 points.

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)

Back-to-back defeats against GT and RR have forced LSG to slip down the table to third place.

LSG must win against KKR in the final game but a loss would mean DC or RCB lose their last match or their NRR doesn’t get better than KL Rahul’s team.

If LSG win against KKR and RR loses to CSK then the former will meet Gujarat Titans in the Qualifier 1 fixture.

Delhi Capitals (DC)

The Rishabh Pant-led side registered a 17-run victory against PBKS to climb to the fourth spot with a superior NRR to that of RCB.

Delhi Capitals needs a win against five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians to outwit their competitors in the playoff race.

In case they lose to MI and RCB also suffers a defeat by Gujarat Titans then the Capitals will still qualify for the knockouts.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)

A 54-run loss to PBKS in their last game has dented the chances of the three-time IPL finalists of making the cut in the playoffs.

RCB needs to seek a massive win against the table-toppers GT in order to boost their NRR even if Delhi Capitals win against Mumbai Indians by a meager.

RCB can also hope for the Capitals to lose against MI and they can easily qualify for the playoffs.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

A win against LSG with the losses of RCB and DC with a heavy margin and given that the winner between Punjab and Hyderabad does not win big are the few possibilities for KKR to make the cut in the IPL 2022 playoffs.

Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)

The winner between the two sides will first hope RCB, DC and KKR lose their final league games against their respective opponents.

The winner needs to win by a huge margin in order to finish fourth given they finish fourth on the points table with a better NRR.

Also Read: IPL 2022: Even Biggest Players May Struggle: Ishan Kishan Reflects On His Disappointing IPL Season