Play-Offs: What RCB, MI Need To Do

Who will join Gujarat Titans, Chennai Super Kings, Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2023's Play-Offs?
Mumbai Indians or Royal Challengers Bangalore?

IPL 2023 has been a dream tournament for the fans!

The world's best cricket T20 league has lived up to its billing, throwing one thriller after another.

Defending champions Gujarat Titans, Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants have qualified for the play-offs. But three teams -- RCB, Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals -- are still in contention for the last remaining play-offs berth, on the final day of the league stage on Sunday.

Gujarat and Chennai will clash in the Qualifier 1 match in Chennai on Tuesday, May 23, 2023 with the winner going through to the final.

The losing team gets another chance as they play in the Qualifier 2 match against the winner of the Eliminator match -- played between the third and fourth placed teams.

A look at what the teams need to do to qualify for the Play-Offs:

Gujarat Titans (Qualified)

Gujarat Titans are the first team to make it to the Play-Offs.

GT outclassed SunRisers Hyderabad by 34 runs to assure themselves of a top-two finish and seal a place in Qualifier 1.

Titans have once again announced themselves as the big title favourites with nine wins from 13 games.

Remaining match:

May 21: vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Bengaluru, 7.30 pm IST.

Chennai Super Kings (Qualified)

CSK qualified for the Play-Offs in smashing fashion with a thumping 77 run victory against Delhi Capitals on Saturday, May 20, 2023, which also ensured them a place in the Qualifier 1 match.

CSK finished the league stage with 17 points as they edged Lucknow Super Giants (17 points) on net run-rate.

Lucknow Super Giants (Qualified)

LSG survived a thrilling finish against Kolkata Knight Riders to qualify for the Play-Offs.

Rinku Singh smashed a sensational knock 67 from 33 balls, but LSG's young pacer Yash Thakur held his nerve in the final over to deny KKR.

LSG finished third in the points table with 17 points and will play in Wednesday's Eliminator match against either RCB or MI.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

RCB face a tough last league match against Gujarat Titans on Sunday.

Playing after MI's match versus Sunrisers Hyderabad, RCB will have the advantage of knowing what they need to do against Gujarat to claim the last remaining place in the Play-Offs.

If MI beat SRH, then RCB have no other option but to beat Gujarat or else they will be eliminated.

However, if MI lose to SRH, then RCB can still lose the match and yet make it the Play-Offs. However, RCB with a net run-rate of (0.180) need to ensure that they don't lose by a big margin to Gujarat else they could slip behind Rajasthan Royals (NRR 0.148) in the points table.

Remaining match:

May 21: vs Gujarat Titans, Bengaluru, 7.30 pm IST.

Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians, who are are fourth with 14 points from 13 games, face a must-win match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday.

If they lose against SRH, MI with a net run rate of -0.128 will be eliminated as the Royals and RCB are ahead of them in the NRR.

Along with beating SRH, MI will also need RCB to lose their last match against Gujarat to ensure their qualification to the Play-Offs.

If MI and RCB both win their last matches and finish level on 16 points, the latter could pip them on the net run-rate.

Remaining match:

May 21: vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai, 3.30 pm IST.

Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals stayed alive after beating Punjab Kings by four wickets on Friday, May 19, 2023.

Royals, who finished with 14 points in the league stage, need two matches on Sunday to go their way to progress.

They need MI to lose to Sunrisers Hyderabad and also a heavy defeat for RCB against the Gujarat Titans.

Kolkata Knight Riders

KKR bowed out of IPL 2023 after a narrow one run defeat against Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday.

KKR finished with 12 points from 14 games.

Punjab Kings

Punjab Kings were eliminated after four wicket defeat against the Rajasthan Royals on Friday.

They finished with 12 points from 14 games to fail to make it to the Play-Offs for the ninth season in a row.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sunrisers Hyderabad's slim Play-Off hopes ended after they lost to the Gujarat Titans on May 15.

SRH, who struggled for consistency, have just four wins from 13 games.

Remaining match:

May 21: vs Mumbai Indians, Mumbai, 3.30 pm IST.

Delhi Capitals

Delhi Capitals are out of the running for a place in the Play-Offs.

Delhi suffered a 71-run thrashing at the hands of CSK on Saturday to end their miserable season in which they managed just five wins from 14 games.

Photographs: BCCI

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