The race to the IPL 2025 playoffs is over but the four teams that have made it - Gujarat Titans (GT), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Mumbai Indians (MI) - are now competing to finish Nos. 1 and 2 in the points table.
The teams that finish in the top two play each other in Qualifier 1 on May 29 and the winner of that match goes straight through to the final. The loser of Qualifier 1 gets a second chance to make the final by playing Qualifier 2 against the winner of the Eliminator, which is a knockout match between the teams that finish Nos. 3 and 4 in the points table.
Gujarat Titans (Points: 18, net run rate: 0.602) Remaining games: vs CSK (Ahmedabad)
GT's chances of finishing No. 1 or 2 are back in their own hands after RCB's defeat to SRH in Lucknow on Friday.
If they win their final league game against CSK on Sunday and move to 20 points, GT will be guaranteed a top-two finish because neither RCB nor MI can get to 20 points. They can only be overtaken by PBKS who could move to 21 points if they win their last two league games.
Even if GT lose their last game and stay on 18 points, they could still finish in the top two in a couple of scenarios: if RCB and MI lose their remaining games, or if RCB and PBKS lose their remaining games. But if PBKS beat DC and lose to MI, then GT will not finish in the top two if they lose their final game.
Punjab Kings (Points: 17, net run rate: 0.389) Remaining games: vs DC (Jaipur), vs MI (Jaipur)
PBKS are second on the table due to the magnitude of RCB's defeat to SRH - 42 runs - and are now best placed to finish in the top two.
If PBKS win both their remaining games, they will finish top of the table with 21 points.
If they win only one of their last two games and move to 19 points, even that could be enough for a top-two finish if either GT or RCB lose their last league games.
If PBKS lose both their remaining games, they won't finish in the top two because GT are already ahead of them and MI will also overtake them. PBKS play MI in their final league game on Monday.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Points: 17, net run rate: 0.255) Remaining games: vs LSG (Lucknow)
RCB remain on 17 points after losing their penultimate league game to SRH and their net run rate took a huge hit, forcing them down to third place below GT and PBKS.
They now need to win their final league match - against LSG on Tuesday - to have any chance of finishing in the top two. If they lose, they will be out of the race for a top-two finish.
Even if RCB win their last game and get to 19 points, it may not be enough if GT win their last match and get to 20 points and PBKS win both their games and get to 21 points.
If GT lose to CSK on Sunday, then all RCB need to do to finish in the top two is beat LSG on Tuesday. And if GT win but PBKS lose one of their last two games, then RCB will know what margin of victory is required against LSG to overtake PBKS on net run rate.
Mumbai Indians (Points: 16, net run rate: 1.292) Remaining games: vs PBKS (Jaipur)
MI's chances of finishing in the top two are not in their hands. By the time they play their last league game, against PBKS on May 26, GT and PBKS might already be out of their reach.
MI's only chance of finishing in the top two is if only one of the other three teams gets more than 18 points and MI themselves beat PBKS to also get to 18 points. If that happens, then MI will likely finish top of the table given their superb net run rate.