It’s a tribute to how competitive and close the Indian Premier League has been this season that even with most teams playing the last of their league matches, it’s not clear which four will make it to the playoffs.
– Twitter reacts to RCB’s six-wicket IPL win over SRH
– Twitter reacts to MI’s IPL win over KKR
– England outcast KP forced out of IPL return by achilles injury
And two of the six teams that are not yet out of the race will square up for a do-or-die battle when Rajasthan Royals and defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders face-off at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai tonight.
Rajasthan have dropped to fifth position with 14 points from 13 games, while Kolkata, following their narrow loss to Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday, are in second place with 15 points from 13 games.
Chennai Super Kings are leading the table with 16 points, but five teams are within three points of the leaders.
#Royals are you ready for a cracker of a game tonight? #RR host #KKR in a decisive match in Mumbai! Halla Bol! pic.twitter.com/q9Pq14T8AT
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) May 16, 2015
The equation for Rajasthan and Kolkata is simple – a win for either of them will ensure them a place in playoffs.
A loss would make them dependent on the other results.
Rajasthan, after a hot start which saw them win their first five matches, have since struggled, winning just once in their last seven outings.
Two split-point matches have played a big role in them still being in the reckoning.
One of the two abandoned matches played by them was against Kolkata on April 26, when the game was called off due to rain, without a ball being bowled.
On Thursday, against Mumbai, Kolkata lost a match they should have won easily.
The final margin was five runs, but Kolkata were unable to chase a total of 171 that should never have reached that high.
Making his comeback to IPL, Bangladesh star Shakib Al Hasan took a couple of early wickets and Mumbai were three down before reaching 50 in the eighth over.
The next game against Rajasthan is a must-win game for us. Hopefully, we can learn and fight hard! #MIvsKKR pic.twitter.com/7JenIllaKH
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) May 14, 2015
But they recovered to post a strong total, which proved to be beyond Kolkata’s reach.
“We will give 100 percent against Royals and see what happens,” Shakib said.
Their batting will again rely on the top three – skipper Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey – who have been consistent throughout the season.
