The defending champion Gujarat Titans are on the right path to defend their title in the 16th edition of the season. They are currently on top with 16 points and have almost qualified for the playoffs. GT are left to play two more games, and a win will ensure that they finish the group at the top.
For playoff qualification, a team needs 16 points, or eight wins. But with tight competition, nothing is guaranteed in the ongoing tournament. The defending champion suffered a big loss in their recent game on Friday against the five-time champion Mumbai Indians.
It was Suryakumar Yadav’s incredible century that led MI to a 27-run win. Though that loss has not pushed GT from their top position, they are still on top. But the question is whether Hardik Pandya and his men can still be eliminated from the IPL 2023 despite having 16 points on the board.
HT are scheduled to play their remaining games against SRH on May 15 in Hyderabad and against RCB in Bangalore on May 21. If Gujarat loses both games, they will finish the group with 18 points. Then, there are a few teams that can reach up to 16 points.
CSK can end up at 19 points if they win their remaining two games, while LSG can reach 17 points with two wins. Mumbai can go up to 18 points with two more wins. But MI has a game against LSG on May 16, and if LSG wins it, they will go to 17 points, while MI can still be at 16 points.
So if CSK and LSG win both their games, they will be No. 1 and 2 with 19 and 17 points, respectively. And then, if MI can win their game against SRH by big margin they can undertake GT with 16 points and a better NRR. RR, RCB and PBKS are also in race to get 16 points.
But PBKS and RR will face each other on May 19, so only one of them can get to 16 points. Among RCB, RR and PBKS, Sanju Samson and his team have a better NRR so they have a great chance. Thus, they can give touch competition for the fourth team to GT.
So if all these thing happen, GT is likely to disqualified and CSK, LSG, RR and MI will end up qualifying for the platoffs in the same order.
