Why IPL is considered the best tournament in the world? Just because of the quality and thrill it produces every year consistently. In IPL 2021, three teams have qualified for the playoffs already. However, just like previous years, we still do not know who will be the fourth team to qualify for IPL 2021 playoffs. Therefore, we give you all the conditions for teams to grab the fourth position in IPL 2021 playoffs.

Read Also: IPL 2021 Points Table: RCB Qualifies for the Playoffs

As Sunrisers Hyderabad have already been eliminated from the playoff race, only four teams are left in the race now. Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab Super Kings, and Rajasthan Royals are the teams competing for the fourth position in the league. Therefore, before we start let's take a look at the IPL 2021 Points table first.

Conditions for teams to qualify for IPL 2021 playoffs

KKR: Conditions to qualify for IPL 2021 playoffs

KKR had started their UAE campaign on a high note. However, with a need for 6 wins out of 7 matches, it always looked like a tough ask. Now, with Andre Russell's injury, KKR does not look like the same team, they looked at the start of the second leg.

KKR will have to win the next match against Rajasthan Royals by a huge margin. Then they will have to hope that Mumbai Indians lose one of their matches against RR and SRH. But, if Mumbai wins both of their matches, they need to win with less run rate for KKR to go through.

Read Also: Venkatesh Iyer: Who is this new KKR sensation?

RR: Conditions to qualify for IPL 2021 playoffs

Sanju Samson lead Royals never looked the team to be in the final four. Injuries to their big stars like Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes was a big blow to them. However, they never left the fight. With a great pool of young talents, Sanju has managed to keep the Royals to be in the race.

To qualify, Rajasthan Royals need to follow one simple rule. They will have to win both of their matches against KKR and MI. The net run rate will not affect the Royals.

Read Also: IPL records: 5 youngest batsmen to score IPL century

MI: Conditions to qualify for IPL 2021 playoffs

Now, this is not new for Rohit Sharma and Mumbai Indians. They somehow always lag in the early part of the IPL, but pulls off hug wins to qualify at the end. However, with Rohit and Surya Kumar Yadav not being in form, this looks quite a tough ask for them.

Mumbai Indians will have to win both of their matches against RR and SRH by huge margins. Even if they win, they will have to wait for the Net Run Rate to be higher than other teams. One advantage for them is that they will play the last match of the league stage against SRH. This will give them the opportunity to play according to the net run rate.

Read Also: Purple cap winners list in IPL since 2008

PBKS: Conditions to qualify for IPL 2021 playoffs

Punjab Kings were nearly out of the race. But few good wins made them stay at the race but with some complicated equations. KL Rahul has been in exceptional form. Meanwhile, Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Shami have been really good with the ball as well for them.

For PBKS to qualify for the IPL 2021 Playoffs, they will have to win against CSK with a big margin. Then they will have to depend on Rajasthan Royals' results to qualify. For them to qualify, RR will have to lose against MI by a big margin and then hope that they win against KKR by a big margin.

Before the race for the trophy gets going, just like every year, the race for the playoffs is more exciting to see.

As the IPL 2025 season nears its climax on May 19, 2025, the playoff picture is almost complete. Gujarat Titans, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), and Punjab Kings have secured their spots in the top four, leaving one final slot up for grabs.

The race for the fourth position is heating up, with Mumbai Indians (MI), Delhi Capitals (DC), and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) battling it out for that one position.

Read Also | IPL Table toppers: IPL Playoffs teams from 2008 to 2024

Current Standings

• Mumbai Indians: 14 points from 12 games (NRR: 1.156)
• Delhi Capitals: 13 points from 12 games
• Lucknow Super Giants: 10 points from 11 games

Upcoming Fixtures

The outcome of the following matches will determine who claims the final playoff spot:

• MI vs. DC (May 21, 2025)
• MI vs. PBKS
• DC vs. PBKS
• LSG vs. SRH (May 19, 2025), GT, and RCB

Qualification Scenarios

Who Will Make It?

Mumbai Indians are currently favoured to clinch the final playoff spot, thanks to their higher points tally and strong net run rate.

The upcoming MI vs. DC clash on May 21 is being dubbed a virtual knockout, as the winner will gain a significant advantage. However, LSG’s three remaining games give them a slim chance to stage a dramatic comeback, provided they can upset strong teams like GT and RCB.

In a highly competitive tournament like IPL, every match counts. The pressure intensifies during playoffs and Eliminator is one such example of an high-pressure knockout match. 

From close defeats to disappointing ones, want to know which teams could not manage to survive this round the most times?

Here's the teams with most IPL Eliminator defeats.

Introduction of Eliminator in IPL

IPL's playoff format expanded in 2011 with introduction of Eliminator and Qualifier matches. The previous 3 seasons consisted of two semi-finals, involving the top 4 teams.

The introduction of Eliminator added another layer of excitement and intensity to the game ever since.

Read Also: Most IPL Finals: Teams with most final appearances in IPL history

Teams with most IPL Eliminator defeats

Plenty of teams consistently made their ways to Eliminator by ending up in the 3rd or 4th place in league stage, but only few could make it to the next round.

We have 2 franchises with equal number of defeats in here.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (3 defeats)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru are yet to have their fairytale ending in IPL. They appeared in Eliminator 5 times and lost thrice out of them, which is most number of defeats by a team in IPL Eliminator.

• IPL 2020: lost to SRH by 6 wickets
• IPL 2021: lost to KKR by 4 wickets
• IPL 2024: lost to RR by 4 wickets 

Sunrisers Hyderabad (3 defeats)

Sunrisers Hyderabad shares the joint position with RCB for having equal number of IPL Eliminator defeats. They also played 5 Eliminator matches, and lost 3 out of them.

• IPL 2013: lost to RR by 4 wickets 
• IPL 2017: lost to KKR by 7 wickets 
• IPL 2019: lost to DC by 2 wickets

Read Also: Highest individual scores by players in IPL playoffs

Other teams with more than one defeat in IPL Eliminator

Some legendary Indian cricketers left their impact beyond the scorecards and records, which earned them an everlasting tribute. Their legacies live on the stadiums where they created their cricketing magic.

Curious to know the ones who had their contributions honored with their names on a stadium stand or pavilion? Scroll down to discover the 16 Indian Cricketers with stands named after them at a stadium.

1. Sachin Tendulkar

The God of Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar, has 2 stands named after him. He was also honoured with a gate named after him at the Sydney Cricket Ground, unveiled on his 50th birthday.

• Sachin Tendulkar Pavilion: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
• Sachin Tendulkar Stand: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE 

2. Virat Kohli 

Virat Kohli was honored for his outstanding achievements and contributions to Indian cricket with a pavilion named after him in his home city, Delhi.

• Virat Kohli Pavilion: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi 

Read Also: Top 5 Records of Virat Kohli that might never be broken

3. MS Dhoni

Honoring the hometown hero, MS Dhoni Pavilion was named as a tribute to his legendary captaincy and achievements.

• MS Dhoni Pavilion: JSCA International Stadium, Ranchi

4. Rohit Sharma 

Acknowledging Rohit Sharma's elegant batting and leadership for India, the stand named after him at the Wankhede is a recent addition, inaugurated in 2025.

• Rohit Sharma Stand: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai 

5. Sourav Ganguly 

Sourav Ganguly stand, unveiled in 2017, is a tribute to dada, not only for his influential captaincy, but also for his contributions as the former president of CAB and BCCI.

• Sourav Ganguly Stand: Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Read Also: Most successful Test captains from India

6. Sunil Gavaskar 

The pavilion named after Sunil Gavaskar stands as a lasting tribute for the cricketing legend.

• Sunil Gavaskar Pavilion: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

7. Yuvraj Singh 

The world cup hero and local boy of Punjab, Yuvraj Singh, was honored with a joint ceremony where two stands were named after him and his teammate, Harbhajan Singh.

• Yuvraj Singh Stand: PCA I.S. Bindra Stadium, Punjab

8. Harbhajan Singh 

The legendary spin master and Punjab's homeboy, Harbhajan Singh, received this everlasting tribute when a stand was named after him in 2022.

• Harbhajan Singh Stand: PCA I.S. Bindra Stadium, Punjab

Read Also: 'MS Dhoni cried that night,' Harbhajan Singh shared the CSK captain's rare emotional moment

9. VVS Laxman 

Known for his elegant batting style, VVS Laxman was given the tribute with a pavilion named after him at his hometown (Hyderabad).

• VVS Laxman Pavilion: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad 

10. Mohammad Azharuddin 

The former captain of Indian team, Mohammad Azharuddin, was honored with a stand at his beloved ground in his homecity, Hyderabad.

• Mohammad Azharuddin Stand: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad 

11. Jhulan Goswami

In 2023, Eden Gardens celebrated and honored the legendary pride of Bengal, Jhulan Goswami. Her name stands as the only woman on this list to achieve this milestone.

• Jhulan Goswami Stand: Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Read Also: From Chakdah to Lords: Adios, Jhulan Goswami

12. Gautam Gambhir

From crucial role in World Cup victories for India, to his role as the head coach, Gautam Gambhir truly deserves the stand named after him in his home ground.

• Gautam Gambhir Stand: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi

13. Dilip Vengsarkar 

Wankhede holds the name of many spectacular players and Dilip Vengsarkar is one of them. It celebrates he golden moments in cricket.

• Dilip Vengsarkar Stand: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

14. Vijay Merchant 

Yet another elegant player to have a stand named after them at the Wankhede. Vijay Merchant's quality contributions are highly appreciated.

• Vijay Merchant Stand: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai 

15. Ajit Wadekar

The former Indian captain and influential figure, Ajit Wadekar, holds a prestigious stand named after him, alongside Sharad Pawar.

• Ajit Wadekar Stand: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai 

16. Virender Sehwag

While we discuss stands or pavilions, it is worth noting that the gate no. 2 at Arun Jaitley Stadium was named after the legendary cricketer, Virender Sehwag, as a tribute.

• Virended Sehwag GATE: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi 

As the much-awaited IPL 2025 is set to resume from May 17, after facing disruption for several days due to the India-Pakistan conflict. As a result, many overseas players, who had flown back to their respective countries, are facing trouble rejoining their IPL franchises.

Some have stated injury issues, while others have their international commitments ahead. Therefore, each team had to make certain changes and sign temporary replacements for the remaining matches.

Find the IPL 2025 updated squads and full replacement list of each team below.

List of replacement players and their reason for inclusion 

Read Also: IPL 2025 Restart: Here's the playoff scenarios before IPL 2025 resumes

Breakdown of updated squads for the remainder of IPL 2025

Here's the team-wise updated squad for the remainder of IPL 2025:

Gujarat Titans 

A sigh of relief for GT fans, as Jos Buttler will play the remaining 3 matches of league stage. He will fly out before playoffs for his national commitments.

Shubman Gill (c), Kusal Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, B. Sai Sudharshan, Shahrukh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Nishant Sindhu, Mahipal Lomror, Kumar Kushagra, Anuj Rawat, Manav Suthar, Washington Sundar, Gerald Coetzee, Mohmmad Arshad Khan, Gurnoor Singh Brar, Sherfane Rutherford, R. Sai Kishore, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav, Karim Janat, Kulwant Khejroliya.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru 

No official confirmation has been received yet regarding Josh Hazlewood rejoining RCB for the remainder of IPL 2025.

Rajat Patidar (c), Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Liam Livingstone, Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Mayank Agarwal, Swastik Chhikara, Lungi Ngidi, Abhinandan Singh, Mohit Rathee.

Read Also: IPL 2025: Here are the overseas players who might not come for the remainder of the tournament

Punjab Kings 

Shreyas Iyer (c), Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, Harpreet Brar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Thakur, Marco Jansen, Josh Inglis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harnoor Pannu, Kuldeep Sen, Priyansh Arya, Aaron Hardie, Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge, Xavier Bartlett, Pyla Avinash, Pravin Dubey, Nehal Wadhera, Mitchell Owen, Kyle Jamieson.

Mumbai Indians 

Hardik Pandya (c), Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, Tilak Verma, Trent Boult, Naman Dhir, Robin Minz, Karn Sharma, Ryan Rickelton, Deepak Chahar, Will Jacks, Ashwani Kumar, Mitchell Santner, Reece Topley, Shrijith Krishnan, Raj Angad Bawa, Venkat Satyanarayana Raju, Bevon Jacobs, Arjun Tendulkar, Raghu Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Corbin Bosch.

Delhi Capitals 

Mitchell Starc won't make a comeback for the remainder of IPL 2025 due to his national commitments. However, there is no announcement of his replacement yet.

Axar Patel (c), KL Rahul, Mustafizur Rahman, Sediqullah Atal, Karun Nair, Abhishek Porel, Tristian Stubbs, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Faf du Plessis, Mukesh Kumar, Darshan Nalkande, Vipraj Nigam, Dushmanta Chameera, Donovan Ferreira, Ajay Mandal, Manvanth Kumar, Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari.

Read Also: IPL 2025: Will Mitchell Starc have to pay the price for pulling out mid-way? Explained

Kolkata Knight Riders 

Ajinkya Rahane (c), Rinku Singh, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Anrich Nortje, Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Mayank Markande, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Spencer Johnson, Luvnith Sisodia, Anukul Roy, Chetan Sakariya, Moeen Ali.

Lucknow Super Giants 

Rishabh Pant (c), David Miller, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bisnoi, Abdul Samad, Aryan Juyal, Akash Deep, Himmat Singh, M Siddharth, Digvesh Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ayush Badoni, Akash Singh, Shamar Joseph, Prince Yadav, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Arshin Kulkarni, Matthew Breetzke, William O'Rourke, Shardul Thakur.

Sunrisers Hyderabad 

Pat Cummins (c), Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klassen, Nitish Reddy, Ishan Kishan, Mohammad Shami, Harshal Patel, Rahul Chahar, Harsh Dubey, Atharva Taide, Abhinav Manohar, Simarjeet Singh, Zeeshan Ansari, Jaydev Unadkat, Kamindu Mendis, Aniket Verma, Eshan Malinga, Sachin Baby, Wiaan Mulder.

Rajasthan Royals 

Sanju Samson (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Jofra Archer, Wainindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Akash Madhwal, Kumar Kartikeya Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Shubham Dubey, Yudhvir Charak, Fazal Farooqi, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Kwena Maphaka, Kunal Rathore, Ashok Sharma, Nandre Burger, Lhuan-dre Pretorius.

Chennai Super Kings 

MS Dhoni (c), Ayush Mhatre, Urvil Patel, Dewald Brevis, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Matheesha Pathirana, Noor Ahmad, Ravichandran Ashwin, Devon Conway, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, Shaik Rasheed, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary, Deepak Hooda, Nathan Ellis, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishnan Ghosh, Shreyas Gopal, Andre Siddarth.

The City of Joy lived up to its billing during the IPL 2025 season as the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) turned Eden Gardens into a pulsating theatre of colour, creativity, and fandom.

The defending champions took fan experience to new heights by unveiling an unprecedented 14 different tifos across 7 home matches, setting a cultural benchmark not just in the IPL, but in Indian sport.

A ‘tifo’ often refers to a choreographed visual display, typically involving large banners, flags, or signs, performed by sports fans.

Read Also | IPL 2025: Here are the overseas players who might not come for the remainder of the tournament

From electrifying player-centric designs to moments to commemorate the ‘home of champions’, KKR delivered multiple tifos throughout the season, with the marquee clash against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Eden Gardens witnessing a staggering seven unique tifos being unfurled.

Each tifo was conceptualised and executed to reflect the ethos of the franchise, reflecting fearlessness, expressiveness, and a deep connection to its city and its supporters, while also carrying the famous ‘Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo’ motto.

The unveiling of multiple tifos throughout the season not only added to the matchday experience but also reiterated KKR's commitment to their fans and the atmosphere at Eden Gardens. The initiative not only celebrated the team but also paid tribute to the loyal Knight Riders’ fan base, who have consistently packed the stands and brought the fortress to life.