On May 14, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were defeated by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their penultimate match of the group phase. Despite suffering a setback at this crucial juncture in the season, the Men in Yellow have a good chance of qualifying for the event’s playoffs.
The four-time champions are currently second on the IPL Points Table with 15 points, thanks to seven wins and one no-result after 13 matches, and have a respectable Net Run Rate (NRR) of 0.381. On Saturday, May 20, MS Dhoni and co. play their final league match against Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
The straightforward equation for the yellow squad would be to defeat Delhi in order to comfortably secure a spot in the postseason. However, if they lose the match, they will finish their league season with 15 points, which would make things a bit more difficult.
Assuming the worst-case scenario, which is losing to David Warner and co., Chennai Super Kings will contend for a position between second and fourth place. However, they will be dependent on the results of the other three teams in the top four: GT, LSG, and MI.
Notably, both MI and LSG have two remaining matches, including one head-to-head contest. CSK will need at least one of the other two teams to lose one of their last two games, which works in its favor. Similarly, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have two games remaining and are ranked fifth with 12 points.
If they win their final two matches, they will have 16 points, one more than Chennai Super Kings.
CSK will therefore hope that the defending champions defeat the Men in Red and Gold on Sunday, May 21 in order to eliminate the latter from the semifinals. Chennai are still in the hunt for the semifinals, but a victory over Delhi should propel them into the final four of the competition.
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