IPL 2023: Road to top-four heats up after Delhi Capitals crash out of playoffs contention

Punjab Kings defeated Delhi Capitals by 31 runs in match 59 of the IPL 2023 on Saturday, May 13 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. After being put into bat first, Punjab rode on a sensational hundred by Prabhsimran Singh (103 off 65) and scored 167/7 in their allotted 20 overs. In reply, Delhi could only reach 136/8 in the second innings despite getting off to an impressive start. 

As a result, Delhi Capitals have become the first team to get knocked out of IPL 2023 as they’re ranked last (tenth) on the IPL points table with four wins from 12 games. As DC got knocked out of the tournament, let’s take a look at the qualification scenarios of all the remaining nine teams in the tournament.

Gujarat Titans

The defending champions are ranked first on the table and need just one win more and they will seal their place in the top two of the points table.

Chennai Super Kings

The four-time champions are ranked second and also need just one win to seal their place in the playoffs. Also, if CSK win both of the remaining games, they will seal the top 2 spot to play Qualifier 1. If they lose one out of the two, they will have the playoff spot guaranteed. However, if CSK lose both games, they need RCB, RR, and PBKS to lose once to remain in top-four contention. 

Mumbai Indians

The Rohit Sharma-led side needs to win both of their remaining matches or if they manage to lose one they will need to get ahead of Rajasthan Royals in the net run rate or hope that Rajasthan lose in one of their remaining two fixtures.

Lucknow Super Giants

The Krunal Pandya-led side is ranked fourth on the table and needs to win both of their remaining games for their smooth qualification to the playoffs. If they go on to lose one, they will have to hope that RR, PBKS, RCB and MI also lose one out of their remaining fixtures. In such a scenario, Lucknow will finish with 15 points while the other four teams will finish with 14 points each.

Rajasthan Royals

The 2022 edition runner-ups desperately need to win both of their remaining fixtures to qualify without any fuss. If they concede one of their remaining two games then the equation will come down to the net run rate.

Punjab Kings

Punjab also have two important games remaining against RR and DC and need to win both for direct qualification. If they lose one, they will rely on RCB, RR, MI and LSG's results and the equation will further come down to net run rate.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

RCB also need to win all of their three remaining fixtures or else they will also depend on the results of RR, MI, PBKS and LSG and will also have to keep their net run rate in check.

Kolkata Knight Riders

KKR are ranked eighth with 10 points, they can get to a maximum of 14 points by winning their remaining two fixtures. The Nitish Rana-led side needs to win both of their matches by big margins to improve their net run rate and will also rely on other teams’ results.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

The Aiden Markram-led side is ranked ninth with 8 points from 11 matches. They also need to win all three remaining fixtures by a big margin and improve their net run rate. The 2016 champions will further rely on other teams’ results as well.