IPL 2025: How can KKR Qualify for the IPL Playoffs after their washout versus Punjab Kings, Qualification Scenario
Day by Day, it's becoming more and more difficult for the reigning champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), captained by Ajinkya Rahane, to even secure their spot in the playoffs of the Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
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A team that lifted the trophy in the previous edition of the tournament are finding themselves in the 7th spot on the points table with just seven points to their name in nine games and a Net-Run-Rate (NRR) of +0.213 following their washout versus Punjab, Now, the question which is arising, do KKR have any chances of making their way into the playoffs!
Play-off Qualification Scenario of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
For the Ajinkya Rahane-led team to make it to the knockout rounds of IPL 2025, they will have to win all of their remaining league-stage matches at all costs. The only advantage the three-time winners currently have is the single point they got after their washed out game versus the Punjab Kings (PBKS).
Normally, in the Indian Premier League (IPL), 16 points are considered to be more than enough to qualify for the play-off phase of the tournament and if the Kolkata-based team win all of their remaining contests from now on, they will get the chance to reach 17 points, which will allow them to get the advantage of one extra point. While Kolkata do need to win all five matches, they have to secure wins by big margins in order to improvise their Net-Run-Rate (NRR).
Also, the main competitors of KKR, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Mumbai Indians (MI) have to face teams like PBKS, GT, RCB & DC and while all of these teams have been in fantastic form so far, if they crumble under pressure, then the wins in the remaining matches can assist Ajinkya Rahane and his men to secure an entry in the top four.
Otherwise, they could narrowly miss out on a play-off spot, as was the case with them in the 2019 season of the cash-rich T20 league. With eighteen points throughout that season, the Delhi Capitals (DC), Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and Mumbai Indians (MI) were in first, second, and third place, respectively. However, as both Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and KKR were at twelve points each, they fought it our versus each other for the fourth slot. However, SRH outperformed KKR in terms of Net-Run-Rate (NRR), and Kolkata lost the fourth position to them.
Which teams are the Kolkata Knight Riders going to face in their remaining matches?
The path to the play-offs of Tata IPL 2025 won't be an easy one for the reigning champions as they have to square off versus strong teams like Rajasthan Royals (RR), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Axar Patel-led Delhi Capitals (DC) and the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their forthcoming games. If the Kolkata-based team manages to outperform all of these sides, they will easily secure the top 4 spot.
But, it won't be the first they will be pulling off such a feat. They did a similar thing in the 2014 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), where they ended up winning all five of their remaining games and secured their qualification spot for the play-offs and they also went on to lift the IPL Trophy for the second time.