How can Bangalore, Delhi, Punjab, Kolkata, Hyderabad reach playoffs?

The Indian T20 League 2022 has reached its final fortnight. With the business end of the tournament approaching the points table has taken an interesting shape. The only team to have already qualified for the playoffs is the debutants in the tournament Gujarat. On the other hand, Chennai and Mumbai are already out of the race having lost more than seven matches. The race to the playoffs is intense between Bangalore, Delhi, Punjab, Kolkata, and Hyderabad. All these teams are fighting for the one remaining spot as Lucknow and Rajasthan have more or less ensured their spot in the top four.

Here we will take a look at the qualification scenarios of the teams still in contention.

1. Bangalore: Bangalore’s qualification will be ensured if the following conditions are fulfilled:

• Bangalore should win against Gujarat.
• The winner of the Punjab vs Delhi match will have to lose their last match in the league stage.

2. Delhi: Owing to a healthy net run rate, Delhi will not have to depend on other teams for their qualifications. They will make it to the playoffs if they manage to win the remaining of their matches against Punjab and Mumbai.

3. Punjab: Mayank Agarwal’s side’s qualification depends on the following conditions

• Punjab will have to ensure wins against Delhi and Hyderabad. The wins should also come by big margins as they have to ensure a better Net Run Rate than Bangalore, if Bangalore defeats Gujarat (Match 67).
• The match between Hyderabad and Punjab will be the last of the league stage (Match 70). This will act as an advantage for Punjab as they will have an idea by which they will need to win against the Men in Orange, if Bangalore goes past their Net Run Rate while defeating Gujarat.

4. Kolkata and Hyderabad: This two teams will be able to pick up a maximum of 14 points if everything goes their way. So, for either of the teams playing in the playoffs, none of Bangalore, Delhi and Punjab should touch the 16 points mark. For this too happen the results of the following matches should be:

• Match 67- Bangalore vs Gujarat: Gujarat should beat Bangalore and prevent Faf du Plessis’ side form touching the 16 points mark.
• Match 64 – Punjab vs Delhi: In this match either of the teams is sure to touch the 14 points mark. Considering Kolkata and Hyderabad’s situation, they will prefer Punjab win the match. As, it would be easier to surpass Punjab’s NRR.
• Hyderabad must defeat Punjab in their final match and Mumbai must defeat Delhi in their final match. If Delhi reaches 14 points, it will be difficult for both Kolkata and Hyderabad to make it to the playoffs.

If the above results hold true then,

• For Kolkata, they must beat Lucknow and hope that Hyderabad loses to Mumbai. This would eliminate Hyderabad from the race and make Kolkata’s way smoother.
• For Hyderabad, they will have to win both of their remaining matches against Mumbai and Punjab and hope that Lucknow beats Kolkata. Kolkata’s defeat will remove any obstacles in their path to the top 4.