By Admin 
The playoff schedule of IPL 2026 is almost ready. Three teams have reached the playoffs and the fourth team will also appear in the next 2 days. But there is a tough battle going on to become the fourth team to go to the playoffs. Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders are the 4 teams who can still get a ticket for the playoffs.
The first qualifier match will be played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Titans, because both these teams remained in the top-2 of the points table. Whereas Sunrisers Hyderabad, which is in third place, has reached the eliminator. Let us tell you that the playoff stage will start from 26th May and the final will be played on 31st May. There are only 3 matches left in the league stage, but what is the equation for that fourth spot and who has the easiest path to the playoffs? Understand the complete equation of playoffs here.
Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals’ path to the playoffs is the easiest and most difficult. Rajasthan has to register only a win over Mumbai Indians on 24th May, even if it is by 1 run. RR team will get the playoff ticket just by defeating Mumbai, because then it will have 16 points. Among the four teams in the race for the playoffs, only Rajasthan can reach 16 points.
Rajasthan will not be out even if it loses to MI. In case of defeat, Rajasthan will have to hope that Lucknow Super Giants defeats Punjab Kings. Whereas Delhi Capitals should win over KKR but it should not be so big that its net run rate goes above Rajasthan.
punjab kings
The first task before Punjab Kings is to defeat Lucknow Super Giants by a big margin. After that Shreyas Iyer and his team will have to hope that Rajasthan Royals loses their last league stage match. Even this will not ensure Punjab’s place in the playoffs, because Punjab will also have to pray for Delhi Capitals’ victory over KKR.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata Knight Riders will first have to register a big win against Delhi Capitals, which will take them to 15 points. Punjab can also reach 15 points by defeating Lucknow, but KKR will have to hope that if the points are equal, its net run rate is better than Punjab. Rajasthan Royals’ defeat at the hands of Mumbai Indians will also be very important for Kolkata.
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Delhi Capitals
Delhi Capitals’ path to the playoffs is the toughest. By defeating Kolkata Knight Riders, they will get 14 points and it is very important for them to turn their poor net run rate of -0.871 into positive. After defeating Kolkata, Delhi Capitals will have to hope that Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings lose their last matches.
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