IPL 2025: Who has qualified for the Playoffs ahead of the final week?
Defending champions KKR among teams eliminated
While the race for Playoff qualification is still red-hot, what we do know about this season’s IPL is that we will have a new champion, after the Kolkata Knight Riders’ must-win fixture against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru was washed out on Saturday afternoon.
The Rajasthan Royals put in a valiant effort against the Punjab Kings in the first match of Sunday’s double header, but they came up 10 runs short of the 219/5 target PBKS set. This result also confirmed our IPL prediction for this match.
Joining KKR and RR on the way out of the competition at the end of the group stage are the Chennai Super Kings, who have endured one of the worst IPL seasons ever, having only won three of their 12 games to date, while only managing a net run rate of -0.992.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad are the final team that will play no part in the competition beyond the group stage. They have three games to play, but only seven points, making it mathematically impossible to finish in the top four. The Sunrisers are in action against LSG on Monday, so be sure to check out our Lucknow Super Giants vs Sunrisers Hyderabad prediction ahead of the toss.
GT, RCB and PBKS Playoff-bound
After a stunning chase against the Delhi Capitals in Sunday’s second match, led by the opening pair of Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill, the Gujarat Titans became the first team to book their place in the Playoffs, now on 18 points and with two games still to play.
The Titans' victory over the Capitals also helped the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who moved to 17 points in 12 games after their match against the Kolkata Knight Riders was washed out. DC can finish on a maximum of 16 points, meaning RCB are through to the Playoffs.
Following their victory over the Rajasthan Royals, the Punjab Kings are now in an identical position to the Royal Challengers with 17 points after 12 games. As a result, the Punjab Kings are the third team guaranteed to be in the Playoffs this season.
MI, DC, LSG set to battle for final Playoff spot
With three Playoff spots now locked in, only one remains, and there are three teams still in the running - the Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants.
As it stands, Mumbai have the advantage with 14 points, and if they win their final two games, they will be the fourth team entering the Playoffs. If Mumbai lose one of their final two games, they can still qualify, provided the Delhi Capitals do not win both their games.
The outsiders in this battle are the Lucknow Super Giants on 10 points - they need to win all three of their remaining matches to get to 16 points, but they need both Mumbai and Delhi to drop a game each. In that instance, it will come down to the net run rate between themselves and the Mumbai Indians.
