Today is a do or die match for Chennai Super Kings. CSK needs a win against Gujarat Titans at any cost to keep alive its hopes of qualifying for the playoffs, but just winning will not suffice. Know the equation of Chennai reaching the playoffs.

Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings match will be played today (21 May) at Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad. The match will start at 7:30 pm. Talking about head to head, both the teams have faced each other 9 times so far, out of which 5 matches have been won by GT and 4 by CSK.

The equation of CSK reaching the playoffs

If Chennai Super Kings beats Gujarat Titans today, they will have 14 points. Currently CSK has 12 points in 13 matches and the net run rate is minus (0.016). After this, Chennai needs Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders to lose their last matches. If this happens then CSK, DC and RR will have 14 points each, PBKS and KKR will have 13 points each. That means Punjab and Kolkata will be out.

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Then the net run rate will decide who will go to the playoffs among CSK, DC and RR. Currently, Chennai’s net run rate (-0.016) is better than Delhi’s (-0.871), but not Rajasthan’s (0.083). Therefore, Chennai’s victory and according to him the results of other matches will not be enough.

For this reason, Chennai Super Kings will have to register a big win over Gujarat Titans, so that if the matter gets stuck on net run rate, then they can remain ahead. They will have to do a better net run rate than Rajasthan and pray that Delhi also does not win against Kolkata by a big margin.

If Chennai Super Kings loses today, then only 4 teams (PBKS, RR, KKR and DC) will be left for the remaining 1 spot in the playoffs.

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Where to telecast live GT vs CSK match?

Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings match will be telecast live on Star Sports Network channels. Live streaming will be on JioHotstar app and website.

Only five matches are left in the league stage of IPL 2026. Only one slot is left for the playoffs, because Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans have secured a place in the last-4. There is only one place left in the playoffs, but there is a fight for it between five teams. Actually, the key to playoff qualification is in the hands of only one team, once it wins, all the other teams will be out.

Actually, the decision of playoff cannot be taken till 24th May, because now the entire game depends on Rajasthan Royals. Even if the remaining four teams, Chennai Super Kings, Punjab Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals, win their last matches, their place in the playoffs will not be confirmed till May 24.

Rajasthan has the key to playoff

In fact, among the remaining five teams, Rajasthan Royals is the only one which can reach 16 points. Talking about the remaining four teams, Punjab and Kolkata have 13 points each. On the other hand, Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals have 12-12 points. Suppose Punjab and Kolkata win their respective last matches, then they will have maximum 15 points. Whereas Chennai and Delhi will be able to reach 14 points if they win.

Since Rajasthan Royals currently have 14 points and their last league match is to be held on 24th May. If Rajasthan wins over Mumbai Indians in that match, then RR will qualify for the playoffs. If Rajasthan loses in that match, then the way for the remaining four teams to go to the playoffs will open or not. At present, except Rajasthan, all four teams are dependent on each other for the playoffs.

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The race for the playoffs of IPL 2026 remains very exciting. On one hand, there is a fight between Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans to finish in the top-2. These three teams have gone to the playoffs, but there is a fight among five teams for the last slot. Today the match between Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants is being played, in which not one or two but four teams will be praying for RR’s defeat, know why?

There is a race between Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders for the last slot of the playoffs. The problem for the remaining four teams is that if Rajasthan wins its next two matches, then no one will be able to stop it from going to the playoffs.

Tension will increase if RR wins

Rajasthan Royals currently have 12 points in 12 matches. If they win over Lucknow Super Giants today, they will have 14 points from 13 matches. If RR reaches 14 points then Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings will face the most trouble. Because both these teams can score only maximum 14 points.

Therefore, even if Chennai and Delhi win their last match, both of them will be afraid that if Rajasthan wins the last match too, then both of them will be out. There will also be a fear that the net run rate of Rajasthan is better than both Chennai and Delhi.

On the other hand, both Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders can score maximum 15 points. If Lucknow wins over Rajasthan, then Punjab and Kolkata will be the happiest. Because if Lucknow wins today, the path to the playoffs of Kolkata and Punjab will become easier to some extent. Overall, all four teams Chennai, Punjab, Delhi and Kolkata will benefit from Rajasthan’s defeat today.

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In IPL 2026, the match between Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants will be played on Friday. LSG team is already out of the playoff race, but Chennai will have to win this match at any cost. Obviously, Lucknow has nothing to lose, but at the moment it has the power to take Chennai Super Kings along with itself.

Chennai Super Kings has played 11 matches, in which it has 12 points after 6 wins. CSK team is currently at fifth position in the points table and its net run rate is +0.185. Understand here the complete mathematics of Chennai going to the playoffs. Will Chennai go to the playoffs after defeating Lucknow? On the other hand, will it have to be out of the playoff race if it loses?

Equation of CSK going to playoffs

Chennai Super Kings still have three matches left. In the current points table, he is at fifth position with 12 points. Even if CSK loses to Lucknow, it will not be out of the race for the playoffs. In case of defeat against LSG, Chennai can reach maximum 16 points. But in case of 16 points, it will have to depend on the results of other matches and net run rate.

If Chennai team wins against Lucknow, then it will get 14 points. Even after that, CSK will have 2 matches left, by winning which it can easily reach 18 points and get a ticket for the playoffs. To put it plainly, a defeat against Lucknow will not eliminate Chennai, but its path to the playoffs will definitely become difficult.

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CSK Playoff Scenario Prediction IPL 2025: In IPL 2025, the playoffs have started getting clear. Today Chennai Super Kings are going to face Sunrisers Hyderabad. For both teams, the path of playoffs seems very difficult, on one side Chennai (IPL 2025 Points Table CSK) is in the last place, while Hyderabad is at 9th position. There are 6 matches left in Chennai, if Dhoni’s team loses against SRH, will all the doors of the playoffs be closed for him? Here you will get the answer to this question.

CSK playoffs chance

Chennai Super Kings have been able to register only 2 wins in 8 matches so far, yet there are 6 matches left in the league stage. If CSK wins all the rest of its matches, then its maximum points can go up to 16. Usually, the team that scores 16 points confirms a place in a difficult playoffs, but the path of Chennai seems difficult.

If Chennai Super Kings have to go to the playoffs, then it has to be ensured that it wins all the next 6 matches. Let us tell you that Chennai’s net run rate is currently -1.392, to make up, he will not only have to win the next 6 matches to make up, but that victory should come with a big margin.

If CSK loses today…

If Chennai Super Kings get defeat at the hands of Sanrajers Hyderabad, then it will be almost fixed to be out of the tournament. If CSK also wins all the rest of its 5 matches after suffering defeat at the hands of SRH, then he will have to depend on other teams to go to the playoffs. In such a situation, the maximum marks of Chennai Super Kings will be able to reach only 14.

The condition of SRH team is also not very good. If he too gets defeat in the hands of Chennai Super Kings today, then the path of playoffs will also be very difficult for him. In clear terms, SRH and CSK will almost remove the defeat from the tournament in today’s match.

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