IPL 2026: How KKR's win over SRH and PBKS' loss to GT have brought life back to play-offs race

The reports of IPL 2026 play-off race's death were greatly exaggerated and the results on Sunday (May 3) showed us why. It seemed for a while this season that some teams were running away in the race for top four. However, IPL is back to its best with fans of most teams ready with their prayers and calculators to see how their teams can go ahead.

In the first game of the day, Kolkata Knight Riders ended Sunrisers Hyderabad’s five-match winning streak with a seven-wicket victory. SRH were bowled out for 165 and KKR chased down the target with ease to make it three wins in a row.

Table-toppers Punjab Kings faced another setback as Gujarat Titans defeated them to make the points table further interesting. PBKS could only set a target of 164 which the Titans chased down on the penultimate ball of the contest.

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Both the results have opened up the points table, bringing more teams into the race of play-offs.

IPL 2026 standings spice up

With just over two weeks left in the league phase, the points table remains as tight as it usually is. PBKS lead with 13 points, followed by four teams - RCB, SRH, RR, and now GT - who all are on 12 points. RCB and PBKS have a game in hand and can go further up but the other three sides are now on their heels.

CSK and DC sit on 8 points each, still in mathematical contention, while KKR’s revival ensures that they too are not fully out of the picture yet. CSK and DC play against each other in their next match meaning one of them will have 10 points in 10 matches. Which means of DC or CSK will get closer to play-offs while one will fall behind.

MI's campaign might just have ended after their seventh loss of the season while LSG, the bottom-placed side, are still alive but only mathematically.

16 points are enough to get into the play-offs and, at this point, all teams barring one can get their. Every remaining game now carries massive weight, with net run rate likely to play a decisive role, like it does every year.