By Soumya Ranjan 
The Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, and Lucknow Super Giants are now vying for the final playoff spot after the Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings defeated them on Sunday.
Three teams—the Gujarat Titans, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and Punjab Kings—made it to the playoffs of the current 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season as a result of the outcomes of Sunday’s (May 18) doubleheader. The Shreyas Iyer-led Punjab Kings were on the verge of qualifying after defeating the Rajasthan Royals by 10 wickets in the opening match in Jaipur. After defeating the Delhi Capitals by ten wickets, the Gujarat Titans ultimately verified the three teams’ qualification. As a result, the Lucknow Super Giants, Delhi Capitals, and Mumbai Indians were vying for the final playoff spot.
In what ways did GT aid RCB and PBKS in qualifying?
If not for Saturday’s cancelled Chinnaswamy match against the Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bengaluru might have been the first team to qualify for the playoffs. The defending champions were the fourth team to be eliminated from the playoff race after both teams shared a point each, while RCB was left just one point away from making it to the next round.
Punjab defeated Rajasthan and joined Bengaluru on Sunday. With 17 points apiece, both teams held the top two positions. However, until Gujarat defeated Delhi, neither had mathematically advanced to the playoffs.
Gujarat would have stayed at 16 points and Delhi would have moved up to fourth place in the points table with 15 points if they had won the second IPL match at home on Sunday. This would have suggested that, had RCB and PBKS lost their final two games, there was a chance that GT, DC, and the Mumbai Indians would have finished with more than 17 points, eliminating them.
But Delhi only had 13 points from 12 games after Gujarat won at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Only one of them can surpass the 17-point threshold, as the Axar Patel-led team has one game left against Mumbai. Thus, with two games remaining, RCB and PBKS both earned a spot in the playoffs.
What must MI, DC, and LSG do to secure the last playoff spot?
Mumbai Indians: 14 points from 12 games (remaining games: against PBKS and DC)
Out of the three teams competing, the Hardik Pandya-led team is in first place. They will qualify if they win both of their remaining games. Actually, if Mumbai can defeat Delhi at home once more and Lucknow loses one of their next three games, they will qualify. Even a victory over Punjab in their final match won’t be sufficient to qualify if they lose to Delhi, even if DC wins both of their remaining games.
Delhi Capitals: 13 points from 12 games (remaining games: against PBKS and MI)
With victories in their first four games, Delhi had a strong start to their IPL 2025 campaign. They stayed in the top half for the majority of the season. But after losing five of their previous eight games, they dropped out of the top four and are now in danger of being eliminated. Winning both of their games is their only chance to qualify. But if they lose any of them, their season will be over.
10 points from 11 games for the Lucknow Super Giants (remaining games: against SRH, against GT, and against RCB)
Lucknow is the least likely of the three to advance, even though they have the most games remaining. This is especially true given their erratic play this season, losing four of their last five games. LSG will have 16 points even if they win all of their remaining games, which suggests they will need to lose to Mumbai and Delhi.