IPL 2026 Playoff Qualifying Scenarios: 5 Matches To Go, RR Hold Lead As PBKS, KKR Chasing Bottom – Paths For Each Team Explained

ByTech Word News

It’s RR’s advantage in the IPL 2026 Playoffs race. (Photo credit: IPL) With five matches remaining in the league stage of IPL 2026, LSG and MI are already out of contention for the playoffs, while RCB, GT and SRH have qualified. Among others, RR was the best, followed by PBKS and KKR. DC and CSK are still in the mix, but only mathematically. There are now 32 possible combinations of results, so nothing is certain yet for any of the five remaining in the race who did not qualify. Let’s take a look at their paths to qualification:

  • RR need to beat MI in their last match to ensure qualification. This will give them the prospect of a three-way tie for second place (with SRH and GT if those teams lose their final matches) or a tie for third place with SRH or GT. If they lose against MI, they will have to hope that PBKS don’t beat LSG

  • PBKS need to beat LSG to have any chance of qualifying. Even if they do, they will need MI to beat RR. If that happens, the KKR-DC game will determine whether PBKS finish fourth or with KKR in fourth

  • KKR need to beat DC. But that alone is not enough. They need MI to beat RR. If that happens, the PBKS-LSG game will decide whether KKR finish fourth or tie with PBKS for that spot.

  • Not only do DC need to beat KKR, they also need two more results to go their way – LSG beat PBKS and MI beat RR – to tie for fourth with RR or KKR and CSK. Their net run rate is significantly worse than both, meaning that the possibility of qualifying appears only theoretical

  • ČSK’s situation is even more dependent on other results. They need to beat GT and then hope the next three results come their way – LSG beat PBKS, MI beat RR and DC beat KKR. If all this happens, CSK would share the fourth spot with RR and DC. Their current net run rate is worse than RR but better than DC