The league stage of the Indian Premier League 2024 ended on Sunday with rain playing spoilsport in the 70th match between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders.
RR paid the price for their shoddy show during the business end as a washout against KKR pushed them to third place behind Sunrisers Hyderabad.
While KKR finished the league engagements on 20 points with nine wins and two more solitary points courtesy wash-outs, SRH (17 points) pipped RR (17 points) by virtue of better Net Run Rate (NRR). SRH finished with NRR of 0.414 compared to RR's 0.273.
Rajasthan Royals would blame themselves for getting into a nice little rut after an incredible run during the first half of the tournament when they had won eight out of their nine games. But their campaign lost a bit of steam towards the back end as they lost four games on trot.
On the other hand, SRH, a team that redefined power-hitting with optimum use of 'Impact Sub', had one of their best chases on Sunday, albeit on a track that once again resembled a highway in terms of its placid quotient. The chase of 215 against a depleted Punjab Kings with five balls to spare also bolstered their NRR just when it was needed.
On Saturday, Royal Challengers Bengaluru grabbed the fourth and final play-off berth with a 27-run victory over defending champions Chennai Super Kings in their must-win last IPL league game at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
It was the sixth straight win for RCB, who first posted a solid 218 for five after being invited to bat and then restricted CSK to 191 for 7 to make it to the play-offs for the ninth time in 15 seasons.
Here is all you need to know about IPL 2024 Playoffs:
IPL 2024 Playoffs: Teams
1. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
Played: 14, Won: 9, Lost: 3, No Result: 2, Points: 20, NRR: +1.428
2. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
Played: 14, Won: 8, Lost: 5, No Result: 1, Points: 17, NRR: +0.414
3. Rajasthan Royals (RR)
Played: 14, Won: 8, Lost: 5, No Result: 1, Points: 17, NRR: +0.273
4. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)
Played: 14, Won: 7, Lost: 7, No Result: 0, Points: 16, NRR: +0.459
IPL 2024 Playoffs: Full Schedule
Qualifier 1: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabnad
Date: Tuesday, May 21
Time: 7:30 PM
Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Eliminator: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Rajasthan Royals
Date: Wednesday, May 22
Time: 7:30 PM
Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Qualifier 2: Winner of Eliminator vs Loser of Qualifier 1
Date: Friday, May 24
Time: 7:30 PM
Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Final: Winner of Qualifier 1 vs Winner of Qualifier 2
Date: Sunday, May 26
Time: 7:30 PM
Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
IPL 2024 Stats So Far
1. Most Runs (Orange Cap): Virat Kohli (RCB)
Matches: 14, Runs: 708, Average: 64.36, Strike Rate: 155.60, Highest Score: 113*, 50s/100s: 5/1
2. Most Wickers (Purple Cap): Harshal Patel (PBKS)
Matches: 14, Wickets: 24, Economy Rate: 9.73, Best Figures: 15/3, 4Ws/5Ws: 0/0
(With PTI inputs)