The defeat of Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals couldn’t have come at a better time for Chennai Super Kings. Thanks to their favourable results on Sunday, the five-time champions have an opportunity to enter the top-four of the table for the first time this season, provided they beat Sunrisers Hyderabad at their last home game on Monday. Following their defeat to Lucknow Super Giants, Chennai are in a situation where both their last two matches are must-win fixtures. Now at fifth spot with 12 points, a win against the third-placed Hyderabad will help CSK push Punjab down and take the fourth spot. Should they win big, they can even leapfrog to third in the table. But even if they are not able to win big, taking four points from their remaining two games will give them a strong chance to qualify. As things stand, Royal Challengers Bengaluru are the only team that is assured of play-off spot. Gujarat are second and play Chennai on Thursday and that fixture could well be a shoot-off between the two franchises for one spot. If Gujarat lose that they will remain on 16 points and others can overtake them on net run-rate. Among the teams in contention, should CSK win their two remaining matches, it will take them to 16 points. Gujarat, Hyderabad and Rajasthan can also match that tally which means it will all come down to NRR. At present, CSK and RR have similar NRR (0.027) and both have two matches in hand. And among all these teams it is CSK which happens to be the only team to face other teams that are in the hunt for play-off spot. So each win will only strengthen their prospects. If CSK lose to Hyderabad on Monday, the doors won’t shut on them permanently. If they beat Gujarat Titans, then they will have 14 points. In that case, they will need help from elsewhere. For CSK to go through with 14 points, Punjab have to lose their last game to Lucknow, Rajasthan should not win any of their last two matches. Although Delhi Capitals is also capable of finishing on 14, their NRR is in the negative. If Mumbai Indians win their last two fixtures, CSK stands to benefit in the case of them being stranded on 14.
IPL Scenarios: Is Sunrisers Hyderabad match a must-win for Chennai Super Kings?
