KKR playoff scenario explained: What Ajinkya Rahane’s side needs in IPL 2026 race
Kolkata Knight Riders still remain alive in the IPL playoff race, but their path has become extremely complicated after Rajasthan Royals defeated Lucknow Super Giants.
Kolkata Knight Riders will enter Wednesday’s clash against the already-eliminated Mumbai Indians with only slim hopes of reaching the IPL playoffs. KKR’s qualification chances took a major hit after Rajasthan Royals defeated Lucknow Super Giants by seven wickets on Tuesday, but the race is not over yet.
Eighth-placed Kolkata Knight Riders currently have 11 points, while RR are fourth with 14. Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad have already qualified for the playoffs with 16 points each.
IPL points table
| Rank | Team | Playoffs | Played | Won | Lost | NR | Points | NRR |
| 1 | RCB | Qualified | 13 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 1.065 |
| 2 | GT | Qualified | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 16 | 0.4 |
| 3 | SRH | Qualified | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 16 | 0.35 |
| 4 | RR | TBD | 13 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 0.083 |
| 5 | PBKS | TBD | 13 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 0.227 |
| 6 | CSK | TBD | 13 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 12 | -0.016 |
| 7 | DC | TBD | 13 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 12 | -0.871 |
| 8 | KKR | TBD | 12 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 11 | -0.038 |
| 9 | MI | Eliminated | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 8 | -0.504 |
| 10 | LSG | Eliminated | 13 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 8 | -0.702 |
KKR: IPL playoff scenarios
KKR still have two matches remaining, meaning they can finish on a maximum of 15 points. Their qualification equation is straightforward: win both remaining matches and hope RR lose their final league game against the Mumbai Indians on Sunday, and Punjab Kings also fail to beat LSG.
More from FirstcricketHowever, that alone may not be enough. KKR will also need to improve their net run rate significantly to stay ahead of PBKS, who can also finish on 15 points and currently possess a superior NRR.
KKR’s campaign will officially end if the Mumbai Indians beat them on Wednesday, as they would then only be able to reach a maximum of 13 points.
KKR vs MI predicted playing 11s
KKR playing 12: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Finn Allen, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Cameron Green, Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakaravarthy, Saurabh Dubey, Kartik Tyagi, Blessing Muzarabani/Vaibhav Arora
MI playing 12: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton(wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Naman Dhir, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Will Jacks, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Raghu Sharma, AM Ghazanfar
Squads:
Mumbai Indians aquad: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Naman Dhir, Tilak Varma, Sherfane Rutherford, Will Jacks, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Raghu Sharma, Trent Boult, Mayank Rawat, Robin Minz, Krish Bhagat, Suryakumar Yadav, AM Ghazanfar, Hardik Pandya (c), Keshav Maharaj, Ashwani Kumar, Mayank Markande, Danish Malewar, Mohammed Salahuddin Izhar
Kolkata Knight Riders squad: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Finn Allen, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Cameron Green, Manish Pandey, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakaravarthy, Saurabh Dubey, Kartik Tyagi, Matheesha Pathirana, Vaibhav Arora, Ramandeep Singh, Tejasvi Dahiya, Rovman Powell, Navdeep Saini, Tim Seifert, Umran Malik, Rahul Tripathi, Sarthak Ranjan, Prashant Solanki, Daksh Kamra, Blessing Muzarabani
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