How can Rajasthan Royals Qualify for Playoffs in IPL 2023?

Rajasthan Royals have defeated Punjab Kings by 4 wickets in their last league match of the ongoing 16th season of the Indian Premier League to stay is contention for the playoffs. Having begun the season on a tremendous note on the back of four wins in their first five matches, RR didn’t do justice to their potential by winning three out of their next nine league matches.

Still not in the best of positions with respect to qualifying for the next round, captain Sanju Samson (2) and his men will have to anxiously wait for the results of the next four matches as the same will only determine their future in the tournament.

Runners-up of IPL 2022, Royals chased down a 188-run target with only a couple of balls remaining in the match. Individual half-centuries by top-order batters Yashasvi Jaiswal (50) and Devdutt Padikkal (51) were followed by impact-generating contributions from middle-order batters namely Shimron Hetmyer (46), Riyan Parag (20) and Dhruv Jurel (10*) to secure their seventh win of the season.

Ideally, they would’ve have wanted to finish the match an over or so earlier in order to give a shot in the arm to their NRR (Net Run Rate).

How can Rajasthan Royals Qualify for Playoffs in IPL 2023?

With 14 points in front of their name, it is noteworthy that Rajasthan are currently at the fifth position on the points table. Their biggest two competitors at this point in time are Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians.

As a result, both RCB and MI will have to lose their last respective match of the season in a bid for RR to play the next round. Taking into consideration how Bangalore have a better NRR than Rajasthan at the moment, their loss will have to be big enough for that to change as well.

Mumbai, on the other hand, have a poorer NRR than Royals. Hence, even a minuscule loss for them will keep RR’s chances alive. With these three teams mostly fighting for one spot especially from Rajasthan’s perspective, they will get eliminated if even one out of Royal Challengers and Indians register a win on Sunday.