Kings XI Punjab had a dream start to their campaign, winning 5 of their first 6 games this season. But things hit a rough patch from there and now the Kings find themselves in an unpleasant scenario where they will have to depend on the results of other games in order to ensure they qualify. They aren’t totally out of it yet and here we take a look at the possible ways in which the Kings could still make it through and throw their hat in the ring to be crowned this year’s champions.

Photo credit: BCCI/IPLT20.com
  1. Qualification Scenario 1: CSK, SRH, KKR, KXIP

For this scenario to come into play, the following things need to happen in the next games:

  • Royal Challengers Bangalore win against Rajasthan Royals but lose to Sunrisers Hyderabad
  • Mumbai Indians lose their next match to Delhi Daredevils
  • Kings XI Punjab beat Chennai Super Kings in the last game

In this scenario, Kings XI Punjab will know that a win in their last game will virtually seal their Playoffs spot with 14 points, while Mumbai and Bangalore will be left stranded on 12. This will be the ideal scenario for the Kings as they will not have to depend on the NRR and will have their work cut out for them in the next game.

  1. Qualification Scenario 2: CSK, SRH, MI, KXIP

For this scenario to come into play, the following things need to happen in the next games:

  • Mumbai Indians win their game against Delhi Daredevils
  • Royal Challengers Bangalore lose to Rajasthan Royals
  • Kolkata Knight Riders lose their game against Sunrisers Hyderabad by a big margin
  • Kings XI Punjab beat Chennai Super Kings by a big margin

Kings XI Punjab will have to win by a large margin in order to qualify in this scenario and will have to hope that Royal Challengers Bangalore lose their way after their recent displays. This way Punjab will qualify if their NRR is better than that of RR since Mumbai currently have the advantage of having one of the best NRRs in the league.

  1. Qualification Scenario 3: CSK, SRH, RR/RCB, KXIP

For this scenario to come into play, the following things need to happen in the next games:

  • Mumbai Indians lose their game against Delhi Daredevils
  • Kolkata Knight Riders lose their game against Sunrisers Hyderabad by a big margin
  • Kings XI Punjab beat Chennai Super Kings by a big margin
  • Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Sunrisers Hyderabad

If Mumbai and Kolkata lose their next games, then Kings XI Punjab will have a good chance of making it through only if they beat Chennai Super Kings by a big margin. The winner of the game between RCB and RR will then be the fourth team to qualify.

  1. Qualification Scenario 4: CSK, SRH, ?,?

For this scenario to come into play, the following things need to happen in the next games:

  • Mumbai Indians lose their game against Delhi Daredevils
  • Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Rajasthan Royals but lose to Sunrisers Hyderabad by a big margin
  • Kings XI Punjab lose to Chennai Super Kings by a narrow margin

Kings XI Punjab still have to off-chance of making it through to the Playoffs if they lose their game against Chennai Super Kings by a narrow margin but for that to happen, it will take a very specific order of events. None of the teams will want to be in this scenario since it will all come down till the last ball of the last game in this case. The Kings will want to get the win by even the narrowest of margins to avoid getting their calculators out to find out if they have qualified.