IPL 2022: Can KKR still qualify for playoffs? Here's a look at all scenarios for Kolkata

Kolkata Knight Riders have landed themselves in a very precarious position in Indian Premier League 2022 (IPL 2022). After a promising start to their campaign under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer, KKR's campaign has fizzled out in the last 5 games as they managed to come up victorious in only one of them. They now face a resurgent Mumbai Indians side, who are coming into this game on the back of two successive victories over table-toppers Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals. 

What KKR need to do to qualiy for IPL 2022 Playoffs? 

So KKR are now in a do-or-die situation where they need to win all their three matches to have any chance of making it to the last-four. KKR can only get to 14 points after 14 matches and need a favour from other teams to qualify. With a Net Run Rate (NRR) of -304, KKR need to win all their matches by a big margin. They would also hope that RCB, DC, SRH and PBKS lose a game each. With Royal Challengers Bangalore already on 14 points, KKR need to have a better NRR than them to atleast have a chance at qualification. Tough road ahead for KKR. 

KKR vs MI: Who will come out on top? 

Kolkata Knight Riders resemble a sinking ship ahead of a rather inconsequential IPL-15 match against bottom-placed Mumbai Indians who, even if already out of reckoning, will have their tails up on Monday.

Panned for trying out too many combinations at the top, a part of their constant chopping and changing strategy this season which backfired on them pretty badly, KKR are coming off a 75-run drubbing at the hands of table toppers Lucknow Super Giants.

MI under Rohit Sharma have already been eliminated from the race to the playoffs as they have just four points from 10 matches and even if they win all their remaining games, the five-time champions can reach only 12 points, far from what is needed to advance to the next stage.

Royal Challengers Bangalore have 14 points already and three other teams have 16 and 14 points.

Two-time winners KKR, under new captain Shreyas Iyer, came a cropper against Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday and the huge margin of defeat has left them with eight points from 11 games. They have three matches left and the maximum they can reach is 14 points, which is again something that cannot guarantee even a fourth-place finish.

However, despite the inconsequential nature of the match, players from both the beleaguered sides can still gun for individual glory at the DY Patil Stadium.

With the season coming to a close for both the teams, the focus will also be on how to go about the task in the next edition, apart from looking to capping off their hugely disappointing campaigns on a positive note.

Heading into the game, the Mumbai Indians enjoy an advantage thanks to their massive 22-8 head-to-head record against the Knights Riders.

At the moment, the best part about MI is that both their openers -- skipper Rohit and Ishan Kishan -- clicked together against the Titans and they would certainly look to convert their scintillating 40s into bigger scores against the struggling Knight Riders.

MI captain Rohit is also approaching a milestone as he is 88 runs away from completing 5000 runs for the franchise in the IPL, and he can very well reach the mark on Monday.

"We struggled in the power play which has been a frustration for us throughout the season. We've been good throughout the middle phase and not too bad at the death," McCullum said.

Even as the KKR stare at elimination, the team will still need to find a way to be more aggressive without losing wickets in the first six overs, keeping in mind the next season and an eagerness to finish this one on a good note.

But it is easier said than done against an MI unit that has just begun to found its bearing. 

(with PTI inputs)