(Cricket news) After 50 scintillating matches, IPL 2021 is at its business end of the tournament as CSK, DC and RCB have qualified but the final spot is up for grabs. With six matches remaining the four sides are still in the hunt for that elusive fourth spot in the table, the top two positions are also undecided but yesterday Delhi Capitals took a massive step in ensuring that but RCB still have a chance to get 2nd position. Let us take a look at what teams need to do to ensure qualification.

Kolkata Knight (12 points +0.294NRR)

Of the four teams in contention, KKR are the best placed team thanks to their positive net run rate. For them the scenario is pretty simple: if they win against Rajasthan in their final match they are all but through to the playoffs, but the difficulty arises if they lose against Rajasthan Royals in the final match of the season. Then the situation becomes a bit complex as they would require MI to beat RR and then lose to SRH in the final of the season. This would leave multiple teams on 12 points each and KKR with a superior NRR would qualify fourth in the table.
Eoin Morgan and co would be hoping that they avoid this scenario, after the IPL restarted they have been one of the in form teams. Remaining games: KKR vs RR (Oct 7)

Rajasthan Royals (10 points -0.337NRR)

The equation for Sanju Samson and co is simply to treat every match like a knockout game because if they manage to win their remaining games against KKR and MI, they qualify for the playoffs but even if they lose one match the road to qualification becomes really difficult. If they beat MI and lose to KKR then that would lead to RR’s exit as KKR will be on 14 points and RR can only reach 12 points. If they lose to MI and win against KKR then they would require SRH to beat MI and they need to beat KKR by 75 runs in their final game of the season to stand a chance at qualification. Remaining games: MI vs RR (Oct 5), KKR vs RR (Oct 7)

Mumbai Indians (10 points -0.453NRR)

The defending champions find themselves in unfamiliar grounds as qualification to the playoff looks bleak. The best case scenario for them is to win their remaining two matches and hope RR beat KKR, in this case Mumbai will reach 14 points while KKR and RR both will finish on 12 points thus taking out the net run rate out of the equation. MI could even get eliminated if they win their two matches if KKR beat RR on net run rate. If MI want to beat KKR on run rate, they need to win their two remaining games by an aggregate of 190 runs as they are 0.747 points behind, and if Mumbai lose even one match out of their two they will in all likelihood bow out of the tournament. Remaining games: MI vs RR (Oct 5), MI vs SRH (Oct 8) 

Also read: Mumbai Indians stare at possible exit with two matches remaining in IPL

Punjab Kings (10 points -0.241NRR)

PBKS are theoretically still in contention but they need a miracle to qualify for the playoffs. The problem with them is that they can reach a maximum of 12 points which means that neither KKR, RR and MI go past 12 points. For that to happen, firstly they need to beat in-form CSK with a handsome margin in order to increase their net run rate, then MI has to beat RR and then lose to SRH and RR needs to beat KKR in the final game of the season to stand any chance of qualification. Remaining matches: PBKS vs CSK (Oct 7)