IPL 2018: What can each team do in the last week of league stage?

With just one week left in the tournament, two teams have qualified for playoffs and the remaining two spots are up for grabs. Five teams are in almost a must-win situation and the competition between these sides has been intense.

While the qualifying teams, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings, will look for the top 2 spots, Delhi Daredevils will look to salvage some pride in the rest of the matches.

While some teams can qualify directly by winning all their matches, others need results of the rest of the matches to go their way in order to make it to the playoffs.

Here's what each team is playing for in the rest of the matches:

---

Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings are almost through

They have done it again, the Chennai Super Kings have qualified for playoffs with two games in hand. The two-time champions are second on the table with sixteen points and have beaten the table toppers twice in the tournament.

With the bat, MS Dhoni, Ambati Rayudu and Shane Watson have been exceptional for the Super Kings as each of them has scored more than 400 runs. Chennai will look to keep up the good work as one win will definitely secure them a top 2 finish. The Super Kings will also hope that Lungisani Ngidi will be fit for the playoffs.

They will be playing their last two matches against Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab.

Points: 16 from 12 games

Matches left:

vs Delhi Daredevils, Delhi, 18 May 2018

vs Kings XI Punjab, Pune, 20 May 2018

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sunrisers Hyderabad was the team to beat after the auction but with Warner's loss, no one expected them to perform so well in the tournament. Kane Williamson has not only excelled as a batsman but his captaincy has been mighty impressive.

Sunrisers are the first team to have qualified for the playoffs and might finish in a top 2 spot. SRH have lost twice to the Chennai Super Kings but will look to maintain some momentum before going into the all-important playoffs. Sunrisers should continue with Shreevats Goswami even if Wriddhiman Saha becomes fit as the latter hasn't impressed with the bat.

They will be facing Royal Challenger Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders in their remaining league games and will look to finish in the top 2.

Points: 18 from 12 games

Matches left:

vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Bengaluru, 17 May 2018

vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Hyderabad, 19 May 2018

Kings XI Punjab

KL Rahul needs support from others if KXIP want to qualify

Kings XI Punjab had a great start to the season with five wins in six matches but they haven't performed well since then. In the last five matches, they have registered only one win against Rajasthan Royals.

Kings XI Punjab is the only team which has a chance to make it even to the top 2 if they win all their matches. But before thinking too far, it is important for them to win two out of the next three games to make it to the playoffs. KXIP have a chance of making it to the playoffs even with one win in three matches but they would not want to take that chance and they would want to win all three games.

In their remaining matches this season, Kings XI will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.

Points: 12 from 11 games

Matches left:

vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Indore, 14 May 2018

vs Mumbai Indians, Mumbai, 16 May 2018

vs Chennai Super Kings, Pune, 20 May 2018

Kolkata Knight Riders

Dinesh Karthik has led the team well

Kolkata Knight Riders have come back into the tournament emphatically after losing to Mumbai Indians by 102 runs. They managed to win against KXIP by 31 after registering a mammoth total of 245.

KKR will look to take some momentum into the next games and will to cash on it. With 12 points from 12 games, they will need two wins in last two matches to qualify without the calculation of the net run rate. They might even qualify with just one win but they'll have to hope the results of other matches go their way.

The Kolkata Knight Riders' will face Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad in games which they would definitely want to win.

Points: 12 from 12 games

Matches left:

vs Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata, 15 May 2018

vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Hyderabad, 19 May 2018

Rajasthan Royals

Jos Buttler has been going all guns blazing

After winning just three out of the first nine matches, Rajasthan seemed like they were almost out of the tournament. But thanks to five consecutive fifties from Jos Buttler, they now have three wins in three matches and are now with 12 points alongside Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders.

By winning the last two games, Rajasthan Royals will directly qualify for the playoffs. They would not want to take the risk of losing even a single game as their net run rate is second lowest in the tournament.

The Rajasthan Royals will face Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore in two must-win games.

Points: 12 from 12 games

Matches left:

vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Kolkata, 15 May 2018

vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Jaipur, 19 May 2018

Mumbai Indians

Can Mumbai do it again?

After losing five of their first six matches, Mumbai Indians were en route to staging a comeback but have suffered a setback against Rajasthan Royals. Mumbai Indians have registered four wins in last six matches and were looking to repeat their 2014 heroics.

Now with just 10 points from 12 games, Mumbai Indians have to win the next two games and hope that the results of the other teams will go their way. Even at 14 points a-piece, the chances of Mumbai Indians making it to playoffs are high because of their superior run rate.

Mumbai Indians will be automatically out of the tournament if any of the three teams - Kings XI Punjab, Rajasthan Royal, Kolkata Knight Riders reach the 16-point mark as the maximum points MI can grab is 14.

They will be facing Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils in the last two matches of their season.

Points: 10 from 12 games

Matches left:

vs Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai, 16 May 2018

vs Delhi Daredevils, Delhi, 20 May 2018

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Virat Kohli's RCB still has a chance to make it to playoffs

After an abysmal last season, the Virat Kohli-led side would have wanted to change the things this year but they haven't been able to achieve that successfully. With 8 points from eleven games, they are still in the tournament thanks to the mid-table tussle between five teams for the remaining two spots in playoffs.

RCB will have to win the last three matches and hope that other results will work in their favour. If they want to give themselves a good chance to make it to the playoffs, they'll need big wins as their net run rate has already taken a hit due their performances so far.

They will be facing table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals in their last three games.

Points: 8 from 11 games

Matches left:

vs Kings XI Punjab, Indore, 14 May 2018

vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Bengaluru, 17 May 2018

vs Rajasthan Royals, Jaipur, 20 May 2018

Delhi Daredevils

Pant's efforts have gone in vain

The Delhi Daredevils who have registered only three wins in 12 matches are out of the tournament.

The bottom-placed Delhi Daredevils have some positives to take away from this season in spite of not making it to the playoffs. They have many young and upcoming players who have displayed potential and are bright prospects for Delhi in the next few seasons.

The double-Ds will be hosting Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians for their last two matches and a win would help them salvage some pride.

Points: 6 from 12 games

Matches left:

vs Chennai Super Kings, Delhi, 18 May 2018

vs Mumbai Indians, Delhi, 20 May 2018