New Delhi. Royal Challengers Bangalore have made a wonderful comeback and have complicated the equation of IPL playoffs. Virat Kohli’s team has not only kept its hopes alive with 4 consecutive wins, but has also spoiled the game of Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, Lucknow Supergiants. Till a week ago, it seemed certain that Chennai (CSK) and Lucknow (LSG) would reach the playoffs, but now they are embroiled in do-or-die matches. Especially if Gujarat Titans defeats Chennai Super Kings on Friday, then MS Dhoni’s team may be in trouble. Let us know why and how.
Now every match in IPL 2024 has become important in the race for playoffs. On Wednesday, Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Lucknow Supergiants and Mumbai Indians were eliminated. On Thursday, Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Punjab Kings and eliminated them from the playoffs. Now there is a match between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans on Friday. If Chennai Super Kings wins, they will have 14 points and their way to play the playoffs will be open. But if Gujarat Titans defeat Chennai then the equation of playoff will get complicated. If Gujarat Titans loses, their playoff dream will be shattered here.
Chennai Super Kings have three matches left. He currently has 12 points. It can remain strong in the playoff race by defeating Gujarat. But if it loses then the remaining two matches will become very important. Chennai’s next two matches are against Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Both RR and RCB are in excellent form at the moment. In such a situation, CSK would not want its path to playoffs to be decided only by defeating these teams. CSK, playing under the captaincy of Ruturaj Gaikwad, would like to score 14 points by defeating Gujarat so that the path ahead becomes easier.
Before understanding the complete equation of IPL playoffs, let us know the position of 10 teams in the points table. Kolkata Knight Riders (16), Rajasthan Royals (16) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (14) are in the first three places in the points table. After these, Chennai Super Kings (12), Delhi Capitals (12) and Lucknow Supergiants (12) are at fourth, fifth and sixth positions respectively. Royal Challengers Bangalore is at seventh position with 10 points. In a way, there is a struggle between the teams ranked fourth to seventh i.e. Chennai, Delhi, Lucknow and Bengaluru to become the fourth team of the playoffs.
Tags: chennai super kings, Gujarat Titans, IPL 2024, IPL Play-offs, IPL Playoffs
FIRST PUBLISHED: May 10, 2024, 15:20 IST