Playoff Permutations Heading into final week of IPL 2026
IPL 2026 Playoff Permutations Heading into final week
The final week of the 2026 Indian Premier League is here, and from here on, every point counts, with as many as seven teams - GT, SRH, PBKS, RR, CSK, KKR and DC - still in the running to secure one of the three places remaining for this year’s Playoffs.
On Saturday, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru became the first team to book their spot in the knockout stage of the 2026 IPL after beating the Punjab Kings by 23 runs at the HPAC Cricket Stadium in Dharamshala, which also confirmed our IPL predictions.
RCB are now on 18 points with one game left to play (SRH on May 22), but behind the defending champions, it’s still everything to play for. As it stands, the Gujarat Titans (16 points) are favoured to progress, four points clear of fourth-placed Rajasthan Royals.
Today’s fixture between third-placed SRH and CKS - which you can get all the insights for by checking out our Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Chennai Super Kings prediction - will be clutch, as a loss for the latter will all but bring their Playoff hopes to an end.
The two teams that already know their fate are the Mumbai Indians and the Lucknow Super Giants. Both sides have only managed eight points from their 12 games so far (W4 L8), meaning neither can catch the team currently in fourth - the Punjab Kings - regardless of their remaining results.
IPL 2026: League Table With 8 Games to Play
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Qualified) | 13 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 1.0650 |
| 2 | Gujarat Titans | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 16 | 0.4000 |
| 3 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 14 | 0.3310 |
| 4 | Punjab Kings | 13 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 0.2270 |
| 5 | Rajasthan Royals | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 12 | 0.0820 |
| 6 | Chennai Super Kings | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 0.0270 |
| 7 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 12 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 11 | −0.038 |
| 8 | Delhi Capitals | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 10 | −0.993 |
| 9 | Mumbai Indians (Eliminated) | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 8 | −0.504 |
| 10 | Lucknow Super Giants (Eliminated) | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 8 | −0.701 |
