IPL 2025: PBKS' Loss To DC Triggers New Twist In The Tale Of MI And RCB's Top Two League Stage Finish, Here Are The Possible Scenarios

IPL 2025: The ongoing eighteenth edition of the Indian Premier League has one of its own kind. This is the second consecutive IPL in which MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings won't feature in the summit clash. The top four have been finalized much ahead of the playoffs, and now four teams are in contention to occupy the top two places. Just making it into the playoffs is not enough because playing the eliminator of IPL brings no less pressure compared to playing the summit clash of the cash-rich league.

Dissecting How PBKS, MI, RCB, and GT Can Ensure Top Two Finishes

Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill's Gujarat Titans have been the strongest team in the IPL so far, and they have been clinical in all three departments of the game. Gujarat has only one game left, and they are on eighteen points with a Net Run Rate (NRR) of +0.602. They play their last game against MS Dhoni's CSK, and they have their fate resting in their own hands.

A win against Chennai Super Kings will seal Gujarat's place in the top two. But if they lose, and RCB manages to defeat LSG, the Titans will be out of the top two. The winner of the Mumbai vs. Punjab game will then go on and seal a spot for themselves in the top two.

ALSO READ | Delhi Capitals Block Punjab Kings' Dream To Hold Top Spot With Six-Wicket Win Over Shreyas Iyer And Co.

Mumbai Indians: This has been some turnaround compared to last year and a campaign to remember for the five-time champions MI. To put matters in context, MI has to win their last game to finish in the top two. They have a solid Net Run Rate of +1.292, and it makes them a contender. 

Mumbai will have to beat Punjab, and then they'll have to hope that either RCB or GT botches their last league game.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Is this the year when the coveted IPL trophy goes to RCB? This is the question that everybody has been asking, and to be fair, under Rajat Patidar, RCB has been nothing but stupendous. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru sustained an untimely defeat against Pat Cummins' SRH, but they are still in with a chance of finishing in the top two.

For starters, RCB has to beat Lucknow Super Giants. The Bengaluru-based franchise will then have to hope that GT loses their last game and remains on 18 points. If Gujarat wins, then RCB will have to hope that Punjab defeats Mumbai by a very small margin, which gives them an edge of getting into the top two. If RCB loses against LSG, then there is no chance for them to get into the top two.

Punjab Kings: Probably, the best campaign for PBKS since their heroics in 2014, this is how one can sum up the Shreyas Iyer-led team's performance in IPL 2025. Punjab botched their second-last group stage game against Delhi Capitals, a team that has been knocked out of IPL 2025.

ALSO READ | Delhi Capitals Open Up Top-Two Race, Defeat Punjab Kings By Six Wickets To Finish IPL 2025 On A High

Punjab will need either CSK to beat the Titans or RCB to lose to LSG, but all of it will be inconsequential if they are outplayed by Mumbai in their last league game.

The Significance Of Top Two Finish

The significance of a top-two finish is much more than what meets the eye. Only once has an IPL team gone on to win the title from the eliminator, and that was Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016. Finishing in the top two gives teams a proper cushion of going ahead and winning the title. The loser of qualifier one plays the winner of the eliminator.

Right now, Punjab Kings (PBKS), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), and Mumbai Indians (MI) are all trying to finish in the top two. Shubman Gill's Gujarat Titans (GT) are almost there, and a spot in the top two is only their loss.