IPL 2018: Qualification scenarios for all 5 teams in contention for playoffs

Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders

The Knight Riders from Kolkata have been going through a mixed season as they have won six and lost equal matches this season. Kolkata's next league match against Rajasthan Royals is literally a knockout game as a win will all but seal KKR's place in the playoffs. Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore losing one of their last two matches will do a lot of good for Kolkata.

Scenario 1: If they win both their matches, they will qualify with 16 points. The only other team that can get to 16 from the mid-table battle is Kings XI.

Scenario 2: If they lose to Rajasthan, they will have to hope that both Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore, teams that have a superior NRR to KKR, along with Kings XI Punjab, lose at least one of their matches so that it becomes easier for KKR to qualify.

This will also hurt Kolkata badly because a loss against Royals will further deteriorate their NRR and improve RR's NRR. If this is the case, they will have to win their last match against SRH by a huge margin.

Scenario 3: If they beat Rajasthan, they need to reach a particular point in their last league game against SRH to get their NRR above the other contenders and can still qualify even if they lose.

At the same time, they will be hoping that both MI and RCB will lose one of their two games to make things easier for them as it needs a monumental effort for KKR to overtake the NRR of both the teams.