After Punjab Kings (PBKS) defeated Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Gujarat Titans (GT) beat Delhi Capitals (DC) on Sunday (May 19) in the first day of action in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) post the restart, PBKS, GT as well as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) sealed their spot in the playoffs while all three teams have two matches remaining.

While PBKS, GT, and RCB cannot relax as they find themselves in a tough competition for the top two spots with each other, the race for the last spot is set to go down to the wire. Three teams namely Mumbai Indians (MI), Delhi Capitals (DC), and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have a chance to qualify as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Rajasthan Royals (RR), Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and Rajasthan Royals (RR) are out of the race.

Quite interestingly, MI and DC play each other on Wednesday (May 21) at the Wankhede Stadium while both teams finish their season with a clash against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Jaipur on May 24 and May 26 respectively.LSG have three matches remaining and will host SRH and RCB on May 19 and May 27 at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow while playing Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad on May 22.

How Can Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, and Lucknow Super Giants Qualify

Mumbai Indians: A victory over DC will almost seal MI's spot in the 2025 IPL playoffs due to their superior Net Run Rate (NRR). If they win against DC, MI can qualify even if they lose to PBKS unless LSG win all three games and upstage their NRR. On the other hand, if MI lose to DC, they can qualify if they defeat PBKS and PBKS defeat DC while LSG loses one more match. Delhi Capitals: DC need to win both their games to qualify. DC will have no chance to qualify if they lose to MI. If DC beat MI and lose to PBKS, they will have to hope MI also lose to PBKS and LSG lose one of their remaining matches.Lucknow Super Giants: LSG do not have their destiny in their own hands and if either of MI and DC win both their games, they will be knocked out.

The Rishabh Pant-led team can only qualify if they win all three games and both MI and DC lose to PBKS. If MI beat DC and lose to PBKS, LSG will have to hope for a significant NRR boost.