The IPL 2026 season is approaching its business end, and three of the four teams have secured their playoff spots. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Gujarat Titans (GT) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have all secured their IPL 2026 playoff spots.
In the meantime, Rajasthan Royals (RR), Punjab Kings (PBKS), Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Delhi Capitals (DC) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are all still in contention to take the fourth and final playoffs spot.
Without further ado, let's delve straight into how each of these teams can qualify for the IPL 2026 playoffs.
IPL 2026 standings after RR vs LSG
| Rank | Team | Matches | Win | Loss | NR | NRR | Points |
|---|
| 1 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Q) | 13 | 9 | 4 | 0 | +1.065 | 18 |
| 2 | Gujarat Titans (Q) | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0.400 | 16 |
| 3 | Sunrisers Hyderabad (Q) | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0.350 | 16 |
| 4 | Rajasthan Royals | 13 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0.083 | 14 |
| 5 | Punjab Kings | 13 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0.227 | 13 |
| 6 | Chennai Super Kings | 13 | 6 | 7 | 0 | -0.871 | 12 |
| 7 | Delhi Capitals | 12 | 6 | 7 | 0 | -0.871 | 12 |
| 8 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 12 | 5 | 6 | 1 | -0.038 | 11 |
| 9 | Mumbai Indians | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0 | -0.504 | 8 |
| 10 | Lucknow Super Giants | 13 | 4 | 9 | 0 | -0.702 | 8 |
Rajasthan Royals (Fourth place, 14 points)
Match remaining: vs Mumbai Indians (24 May)
The most straightforward path for RR to qualify for the IPL 2026 playoffs is by beating Mumbai Indians (MI) in their next match on Sunday. That will take them to 16 points, and no other team will be able to reach that points tally. PBKS is the only team that can close in on RR, but they can only reach 15 points.
Should RR lose to MI, they can still qualify with 14 points, but they will need Punjab Kings to lose their next match against LSG and KKR to lose at least one of their remaining two matches. In the worst case, RR will have to rely on the Net Run Rate (NRR).
Punjab Kings (Fifth place, 13 points)
Match remaining: vs Lucknow Super Giants (23 May)
PBKS started the IPL 2026 season strongly, winning six of their first seven matches, but have now lost their last six. They are in a spot of bother in fifth place, and a win over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will not guarantee a playoff spot.
Yes, they will have 15 points then, but will be eliminated if RR win their last league stage match. If RR lose and PBKS win, then the Shreyas Iyer-led side will qualify for the playoffs with 15 points.
Chennai Super Kings (Sixth place, 12 points)
Match remaining: vs Gujarat Titans (21 May)
CSK lost their last match to SRH, which makes their playoff hopes a little difficult. Should they win their last match against GT, CSK will have 14 points. They will then have to hope RR lose badly to MI, PBKS lose to LSG and KKR, and DC lose their remaining matches.
Delhi Capitals (Seventh place, 12 points)
Remaining match: vs Kolkata Knight Riders (24 May)
DC have a negative NRR of -0.871, making it difficult for them to qualify for the playoffs.
They should defeat KKR, which would take them to 14 points. Axar Patel and co will then have to hope RR lose heavily to MI, PBKS lose to LSG, and CSK lose to GT. However, all this is easier said than done.
Kolkata Knight Riders (Eighth place, 11 points)
Remaining matches: vs Mumbai Indians (20 May), vs Delhi Capitals (24 May)
KKR are the only playoff contender with two matches remaining in the league stage. The Ajinkya Rahane-led side will have to win both their remaining matches to get to 15 points.
They then have to hope that RR lose their final match to MI and that their NRR remains superior to PBKS's. One loss in the next two matches will eliminate KKR.
