IPL 2021: Mumbai Indians or Kolkata Knight Riders, who will seal the final Playoffs spot?

While every match in the Indian Premier League (IPL) is almost always action-packed, the matches just before the playoff round begins always have that added punch to them. This time around, in the IPL 2021, three spots for the playoff round are confirmed, one spot is up for contention with four teams that could possibly qualify if certain results go their way. Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Punjab Kings, and Rajasthan Royals are the four teams that are competing for one IPL 2021 playoffs.

However, statistically it is almost out of reach for Punjab and Rajasthan as they need to win by massive margins and hope that both Kolkata and Mumbai lose their matches by a certain margin. So, it is highly unlikely that the two could make it to the last spot. Essentially it is down to Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders.

Battle for the final playoff spot

Both Mumbai and Kolkata are on 12 points from 13 games played but Kolkata are ahead of Mumbai owing to a better Net Run Rate. KKR's Net Run Rate is +0.294 while MI's is -0.048. Given below is a break down of what all four teams need to do and then pray for to happen to make the last playoff spot.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Win. Yes, that is all they have to do, two points would virtually seal their spot in the playoff rounds. Well, maybe they need to hope that Mumbai does not win by a margin of 87 runs or with more than 11 overs to spare but again that is a very tough ask for Mumbai. Kolkata will take on Rajasthan Royals in their final fixture of the group stage and they will definitely go all out to grab the win. However, a loss will put the ball in Mumbai's court so to speak.

Mumbai Indians

A win by a huge margin or a win and Kolkata lose, these are the two scenarios that Mumbai need to grab that last playoff spot. The good thing is that with Kolkata playing their match first, Rohit Sharma and Co. will know what strategy they need to employ. If Kolkata wins their match against Rajasthan, then Mumbai need to win their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad by a margin of 87 runs or with more than 11 overs to spare. If Rajasthan manage to defeat Kolkata then all Mumbai need to do is concentrate on winning their match and they will claim the last playoff spot.

Punjab Kings

A tough ask for them to go through. They need to win by a margin of 70 runs against the Royal Challengers Bangalore and expect Kolkata Knight Riders to lose by the same margin. It truly is a mountain to climb for the KL Rahul-led Punjab team.

Rajasthan Royals

Almost out of contention. Rajasthan need to defeat Kolkata by a massive margin of 125 runs and then hope and pray that Mumbai loses by 40 runs. If all that does play out, they will truly defy all the odds and make it to the IPL 2021 playoffs.

Image: PTI