The defending champions are officially out
With the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) game being washed out on the resumption of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, the defending champions KKR were officially eliminated from the tournament, having no chance to make it to the Playoffs.
With another team moving out of the Playoffs race it was Gujarat Titans’ 10-wicket hammering of Delhi Capitals which saw three out of the four Playoffs spots being confirmed, here’s a quick look at where the teams stand, who all are still in contention and who all have been sent home.
Teams who are out of the Playoffs race:
Chennai Super Kings – 12 games played – 3 Wins – 9 Losses – 6 points
One of the IPL’s most successful franchises, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) was the first team to be eliminated from the Playoffs race in IPL 2025. The team had to switch their captain midway through the season after Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled out due to an injury which saw former Indian World Cup winning captain MS Dhoni take up the captain’s armband once more for the Chennai team.
Even with their most successful captain leading them, CSK failed to find balance on the field. Amongst the two biggest issues for CSK were finding the right top order combination as CSK tried out a host of opening pairs without any success and also finding the right bowling combination in the PowerPlay. Barring a win in their opening game and two wins towards the end of the season, CSK have had a nightmare season, having lost 9 out of their 12 games played this season.
Sunrisers Hyderabad – 11 games played – 3 wins – 7 Losses – 1 NR – 7 points
Runners up of IPL 2024 and boasting of some of the most dangerous T20 players in the world, SRH were clear favourites from most people coming into the IPL 2025 season with a starred lineup consisting of Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Pat Cummins and Mohammed Shami. SRH started their season with their new signing Ishan Kishan’s blistering century powering them to 286 and while the signs looked ominous, the explosive batting unit failed miserably.
Neither did the bowling unit step up which included experienced bowlers like Pat Cummins and Shami with SRH managing to win only three games from their 11 played along with one no-result which has them sitting with seven points from 11 games. Hyderabad still have three games left and even though Playoffs are out of their reach, they can finish respectably in the middle of the table.
Rajasthan Royals – 13 games played – 3 wins – 10 Losses – 6 points
Rajasthan Royals came into the new IPL season with a new look squad, letting go of some of their big names such as Jos Buttler and Yuzvendra Chahal. With Sanju Samson being unavailable for the majority of the season, Riyan Parag took up the role of captain for the Royals and the Assamese played did not impress at all. Barring a narrow win against CSK and two wins against Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans, Rajasthan Royals have leaked runs regularly putting up an inspired all-round performance.
Like CSK, Rajasthan sit with three wins from their 13 games and will be looking to finish their season strong and comeback harder next season. A loss to CSK in their final league game would be a bottom of the table finish for Riyan Parag’s boys.
Kolkata Knight Riders – 13 games played – 5 wins – 6 Losses – 2 NR – 12 points
The defending champions who lost the season on the auction table itself, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) controversially let go on their title-winning captain Shreyas Iyer and had some surprising buys in the auction came into the season with little to no chance to defend their title. The team performed accordingly, finding no consistency with the bat and with a bowling lineup dependent on Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, KKR lost the plot early on. Failing to finalise their best XI until the business end of the tournament didn’t help either as the KKR coaching staff looked pretty helpless.
KKR also lost a couple of games which were all but in their bag which added to them not making the Playoffs while two washouts didn’t help their cause either. With five wins from all but one league game left, the Knight Riders will fail to make the playoffs in a season where they were defending their title.
Teams who still have a chance for the Playoffs:
Mumbai Indians – 12 games played – 7 wins – 5 losses – 14 points
Mumbai Indians started in typical Mumbai Indians fashion, having won just 1 out of their opening five games but a six-game win streak saw Hardik Pandya’s boys bounce back in style. The five-time IPL champions now sit inches away from the Playoffs and are the favourites to secure that fourth and final Playoffs spot.
Two wins in the two remaining games will see Mumbai qualify without any issue but even one win could see them through thanks to a strong net run rate. If Mumbai Indians lose both their remaining league games, they will be eliminated.
Delhi Capitals -12 games played – 6 wins – 5 losses – 1 NR – 13 points
Delhi Capitals have had a mixed season so far, after starting brilliantly, they seemed to have lost steam at the wrong time. Delhi had won four out of their opening four games but a 10-wicket loss to Gujarat Titans in their last game means that Axar Patel’s squad have won only 1 game out of the last five. Delhi now are at the risk of missing out on the Playoffs spot and need to win both their remaining games against Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings to qualify. Winning only one out of their remaining two games doesn’t confirm Playoffs for the Capitals as if Mumbai Indians wins even one of their remaining matches, the Capitals will be knocked out. LSG are another team who could knock Delhi out as three out of three for Rishabh Pant’s boys will see them finish ahead of the Capitals, who the Capitals fail to win both their remaining games.
Lucknow Super Giants – 11 games played – 5 wins – 6 losses – 10 points
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), along with SRH have been one of the most disappointing teams of the season. LSG broke the bank to go all in to make Rishabh Pant the most expensive player in the IPL history during the auction and with the likes of Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, David Miller in their ranks, LSG have failed to turn up as an unit. Despite Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh and Nicholas Pooran going explosive at the top, Pant himself has been poor with the bat while LSG’s bowling unit has not clicked either.
LSG sit in seventh place with 10 points and have three games left. LSG have to win all three of their remaining games if they want to qualify and have their task cut out. Even one loss will end Pant and his boys’ Playoff hopes.
Teams who have qualified for the Playoffs:
Gujarat Titans – 12 games played – 9 wins – 3 losses – 18 points
Gujarat Titans have been near flawless in their IPL 2025 campaign with captain Shubman Gill leading perfectly from the front. Gill, his opening partner Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler have been one of the key reasons for the Titans’ success. The trio at the top have all scored 500+ runs individually, a first in the history of IPL. Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Sai Kishore have been stellar with the ball as well with Prasidh Krishna holding the Purple Cap while Sai Sudharsan holds the Orange Cap with Gill in second place. Gujarat’s dominant 10-wicket win over Delhi Capitals saw them not only book their place in the Playoffs but also make sure that Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru qualified as well as a result of their win.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru – 12 games played – 8 wins – 3 losses – 1 NR – 17 points
IPL’s most unlucky team, some say, the RCB squad have finally turned up to an IPL season with a balanced squad as finally RCB have a bowling unit which is helping them win games. As is with their legacy, they have once again depended on the top three for most of the runs but its been Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvaneswar Kumar and Krunal Pandya who have turned the tables for RCB.
RCB currently sit with 17 points and are one point away from locking in a Playoffs spot which means one win out of their remaining two games should not only book a Playoffs spot but could secure a top 2 finish which will give them the advantage in the Playoffs having two cracks at the cherry.
Punjab Kings – 12 games played – 8 wins – 3 losses – 1 NR – 17 points
After winning the IPL with KKR in 2024, Shreyas Iyer has his eyes set on repeating the feat with his new team, Punjab Kings and Iyer and his boys have impressed so far in IPL 2025. Punjab sit third in the table and while their win over Rajasthan Royals pushed them closer to the Playoffs and Gujarat Titans’ win over Delhi sealed Playoffs for Iyer and his boys. Punjab have also made it to the Playoffs for the first time since 2014, when they finished runners up. Punjab have two games left and will be looking to finish on a high and in the top 2.
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