With only 15 matches to go in the league stage of this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL 2025), seven teams are still in contention to make it to the playoffs, but no team has secured a place in the top four yet. 

According to ESPNcricinfo experts, here’s what each of these seven teams needs to do to qualify.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

RCB has played 11 matches, have 16 points and has three matches still to play. 

These matches are against LSG, SRH and KKR. 

The washout between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Delhi Capitals (DC) means that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are now only one win away from securing their place in the playoffs. 

That’s because five teams can make it to 18 points only if at least a couple of teams get there due to two washouts. 

Since the number of wins is the first tie-breaker for teams on equal points, RCB will go through on the basis of nine wins. They can also make the top four with 16 points if other results go their way. 

However, two wins will not guarantee a top-two finish yet, as three teams can still finish with 20 or more points.

Punjab Kings

PBKS have so far also played 11 matches, and have 15 points. The still have three matches to play – against Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals. 

To be certain of qualification, Punjab Kings (PBKS) need to win a couple of games and move up to 19 points. If they win each of their three remaining games, they’ll be assured of a top-two finish. Two of their three remaining games are against teams in the top five, which makes those results extremely vital for PBKS.

Mumbai Indians

MI have so far also played 11 matches and are sitting with 14 points. They also still have three matches to play – against Gujarat Titans, Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals. 

With six wins in a row, Mumbai Indians (MI) are undoubtedly the form team of the tournament at the moment. Not only have they won six consecutive matches, they have done so by convincing margins – four of those victories have been by either 50-plus runs or by more than 25 balls to spare. 

That has helped lift their NRR to an enviable 1.274, easily the best among all teams. A couple of wins will guarantee a place in the playoffs, while 20 will likely ensure a top-two finish given their excellent NRR. 

For them to qualify with 16 points, several other results will need to go in their favour, but 14 won’t cut it anymore, since their three remaining games are against sides that are all in contention. Three defeats will take all those teams above MI, while RCB already have 16.

Gujarat Titans

The Titans have played only 10 matches so far and are sitting with 14 points. They have four matches still to play – against MI, DC, LSG and CSK. 

They have an excellent NRR of 0.867 – which is second only to MI’s. 

As with MI, Gujarat Titans also need at least a win to stay in contention, while two wins will guarantee qualification. 

However, they will be eliminated if they lose each of their four remaining games and stay on 14. They have a favourable itinerary too, with their last two games scheduled at home, where they have a formidable 4-1 record so far this season.

Delhi Capitals

Delhi Capitals have played 11 matches so far and have 13 points. They have three matches still to play – against PBKS, GT and MI. 

A lucky point against SRH halted a two-match losing sequence for DC and gave them a bit of a breather. 

Fifteen points will push them into the top four only if several other results go in their favour, while 17 could also place them at the mercy of other results – it’s still possible for six teams to finish on 17 or more points. 

Wins in all three remaining matches will ensure qualification, but that will require a huge reversal of form, given that they have only won one of their last five matches.

Kolkata Knight Riders

KKR has also played 11 matches and have three to go. They are sitting with 11 points. Their three remaining matches are against CSK, SRH, and RCB.

Fifteen points could give Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) an outside chance based on other results, but more realistically, they’ll need 17 to stay in contention. Even then, it could come down to other results and net run rates.

Lucknow Super Giants

LSG have 11 matches ticked off and have 10 points in total. They still need to play three matches – against RCB, GT and SRH. 

Like DC, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are also struggling for momentum, having lost three in a row, and four of their last five. 

The best they can do now is win their three remaining matches, finish on 16 points, and hope that a couple of in-form teams suffer a sudden reversal of fortunes. If they lose one more match, though, LSG will be eliminated. 

Tuesday’s match

Today, Tuesday May 6, will see Match 56 play out at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai when Mumbai Indians will take on Gujarat Titans. 

The match starts at 5:30 pm Kabul time and will be broadcast live and exclusively on Ariana Television across Afghanistan. 

Bayern Munich have been confirmed as winners of the 34th Bundesliga title after their rivals Bayer Leverkusen drew 2-2 at Freiburg on Sunday. The success gave Harry Kane his first major trophy. 

The Bavarians, who had won 11 consecutive Bundesliga titles in a record league run between 2013 and 2023, had seen Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen race to a domestic league and cup double last season without a single defeat in either competition, AFP reported. 

New Bayern coach Vincent Kompany had his work cut out with Bayern urgently looking for direction after a turbulent period under his predecessor Thomas Tuchel, who left the club at the end of last season.

Unlike some former Bayern coaches, including Tuchel, Kompany lacked experience coaching a big club with the former Belgium international having previously coached Anderlecht and Burnley.

Bayern bosses were prepared to take the risk and it paid off with Kompany quickly establishing control in the changing room.

Bayern were desperate for a good start in the current season in order to put an early marker down in the title race and they bagged four straight wins to kick off the campaign, before carving out a 1-1 draw against the reigning champions.

With Leverkusen no longer invincible this season and lacking last year’s consistency, Bayern gradually pulled away and by the 11th matchday had a six-point advantage, having shaken off Leipzig, Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund as possible title rivals.

The Bavarians were lethal in attack with Jamal Musiala and Harry Kane in top form but struggled with their backline throughout the season.

A string of injuries in recent weeks that sidelined several key defenders compounded the problem and Saturday’s 3-3 draw with RB Leipzig took their goals conceded tally to 32, an average of one goal per league match this season.

But Kompany’s team have been lethal up front, bagging 93 goals in 32 matches.

With 24 goals, Kane was once more Bayern’s guarantee in attack with the England captain looking set to become the first player in Bundesliga history to be crowned top scorer in both his first two seasons in the league.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers of his generation, England’s all-time top scorer and second on the all-time Premier League scorers’ list, Kane had won a hatful of individual awards.

He had, however, no single team trophy to show for his efforts after 400-odd goals for clubs and country and with talk of a ‘Kane title curse’ developing over the years.

So his move to Bayern, Germany’s record champions and six-time European champions, was all about finally adding trophies to his goal-scoring records and fulfilling his title-winning ambitions.

The Bavarians failed to get past the quarter-finals in the Champions League after their 4-3 aggregate loss to Italy’s Inter Milan last month and they also lost to Leverkusen in the German Cup round of 16, leaving the league title as their only possible trophy for the season.

But they would not be denied in the league as they kept second-placed Leverkusen at bay in the final sprint to the finish line.

The Orange Cap continues to change heads after most match at this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL), while the Purple Cap holder remains pretty much intact. 

On Saturday night, Virat Kohli reclaimed the Orange Cap after Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) beat Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

It didn’t take Virat Kohli long to take back the honor, after B Sai Sudharsan, the Gujarat Titans (GT) opener, won it back from Kohli on Friday.

But Kohli snatched it right back when he scored 62 in 33 balls for RCB against CSK at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. There’s not much between them: Kohli is on 505 runs from 11 innings, while Sai Sudharsan is one run behind, from one fewer innings.

The line-up below them remains unchanged: Suryakumar Yadav (Mumbai Indians, 475 runs), Jos Buttler (GT, 470 runs), Shubman Gill (GT, 465 runs), Yashasvi Jaiswal (Rajasthan Royals, 439 runs) and Nicholas Pooran (Lucknow Super Giants, 404 runs).

Now, while Kohli is the top run-getter, RCB’s next most prolific run-scorer is Devdutt Padikkal with just 247 runs, down at No. 26.

The Purple Cap table has not seen this dynamic in the top three and although Josh Hazlewood didn’t play the game against CSK, he remains one wicket behind table-topper Prasidh Krishna of GT. Prasidh has 19 wickets from ten games, while Hazlewood has 18 from ten.

Khaleel Ahmed’s wicketless – and very expensive – outing meant he remained at 14 wickets for the season, but his team-mate Noor Ahmad got back on level terms with MI’s Trent Boult at 16 wickets to be joint-third. 

Krunal Pandya picked up one wicket for RCB against CSK, and that took him to 14, the same as Khaleel as well as GT’s Mohammed Siraj and Delhi Capitals’ Mitchell Starc.

Sunday’s double-header

Kolkata Knight Riders will take on Rajasthan Royals in today’s match at Eden Gardens. The first of two matches will get underway at 2pm Kabul time. 

The second match of the day will see Punjab Kings play Lucknow Super Giants at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala. This match will start at 6pm. 

Both matches will be broadcast live and exclusively on Ariana Television across Afghanistan.