RR qualify for IPL 2026 playoffs; PBKS and KKR knocked out

Monday, 25 May 2026 02:59 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

ESPNcricinfo: Rajasthan Royals (RR) have joined Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Gujarat Titans (GT), and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the playoffs of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 by beating Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium yesterday to secure fourth place in the points table.

On the last day of the league stage, RR’s victory in the afternoon game against MI took them to 16 points, ahead of Punjab Kings (PBKS) who had finished with 15 points, and out of reach of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) who have only 13 points ahead of their last league match against Delhi Capitals on Sunday night. The maximum KKR can get to is 15.

The IPL 2026 playoffs begin with Qualifier 1 between RCB and GT – the teams that finished No. 1 and 2 in the points table – in Dharamsala tomorrow; the winner of that match will progress directly to the final on 31 May in Ahmedabad.

The team that loses Qualifier 1 will have a more hectic schedule. They travel from Dharamsala to New Chandigarh to play Qualifier 2 against the winner of the Eliminator.

SRH and RR, the teams that finished third and fourth in the league stage, contest the Eliminator on 27 May in New Chandigarh. The team that loses the Eliminator exits the competition, while the winner progresses to play Qualifier 2 on 29 May in New Chandigarh against the team that lost Qualifier 1.

With only a day’s gap between Qualifier 2 and the final, the winner of Qualifier 2 will travel to Ahmedabad on 30 May to play the final against the winner of Qualifier 1 on 31 May.

At the bottom end of the table, MI stayed in ninth place ahead of Lucknow Super Giants, who finished last in the league. Both teams won only four of their 14 games in IPL 2026.