IPL 2019: Playoffs Qualification - Who will take the fourth playoffs spot?

While three teams have already booked their place in the IPL 2019 playoffs, one spot is still up for grabs. As we head into the final round of group stage games, as many as three teams - Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Rajasthan Royals are still very much in contention for the playoffs.

Though Kings XI Punjab are not officially knocked out, their chances are highly improbable after their defeat against KKR on Friday. Without much ado, let's take a look at what each team needs to do to qualify for the playoffs.

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Kolkata Knight Riders

After four wins in five games to start the 2019 campaign, KKR lost six matches in a row before waking up in the game against Mumbai Indians. They are currently fifth in the points table with 12 points and also has a decent net run rate of +0.173.

However, they need to win big in their last game Mumbai Indians and would want SRH to lose by a big margin against Royal Challengers Bangalore. The sum of margins needs to be around 130, so if KKR win by 65 runs, SRH will have to lose by 65 runs.

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Sunrisers Hyderabad

With a stupendous net run rate of 0.653, SRH are well placed right now to qualify for the playoffs with a win in their final game against Royal Challengers Bangalore. If both SRH and KKR win their final game, KKR has to improve their vastly inferior net run rate, which is highly unlikely in the scenario of SRH. In all, SRH can most probably make it to the playoffs with just a win.

Even if they lose by a small margin, and if KKR and RR lose, they can still go through to the playoffs because of their superior net run rate.

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Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals are still alive in the tournament with 11 points from 13 games. However, they need a lot of help from other teams to make the playoffs. Royals have to beat Delhi Capitals on Saturday, and would want Royal Challengers Bangalore to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians to beat Kolkata Knight Riders.

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Kings XI Punjab

After the defeat against KKR, KXIP are virtually out of the playoffs. Even if they beat Chennai Super Kings in their final game and SRH and KKR lose their respective games, their net run rate makes it virtually impossible for them to overtake Sunrisers. The sum of the margins is more than 250, that is, if KXIP beat CSK by 125 runs, they want SRH to lose by the same margin, which is highly unlikely, almost impossible to happen across two T20 games.