The league phase of IPL 2023 has reached its climax, with Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals still in the mix to seal the final spot in the playoffs. Chennai Super Kings, Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants have already taken their places in the last four.
Heavy pre-monsoon rains in Bengaluru could play a massive role in relation to which team takes that final qualifying spot. As per the forecast, it is expected to rain for most of Sunday evening. It is already raining in many parts of Bengaluru, with very strong winds. As far as the permutations and combinations are concerned, Mumbai would jump up to 16 points with victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium.
They will also keep an eye on their Net Run Rate (NRR). Rajasthan, Mumbai and Bangalore are all on 14 points, but separated in the points table by NRR. Currently, Mumbai have an NRR of -0.128 while RCB’s is +0.180. On the other hand, Rajasthan’s NRR is +0.148, and they have completed all their matches in the league phase. With Sunrisers Hyderabad batting first against Mumbai, Rohit Sharma’s team will know what they need to do to push their NRR above that of RCB. For example, if Sunrisers make 200, Mumbai will need to chase it down in 11.4 overs.
Bangalore will have the advantage of knowing what they need to do, assuming their match against Gujarat Titans even goes ahead. For Rajasthan to go through, they need both MI and RCB to lose their games. Also, as RCB’s net run-rate is slightly better than Rajasthan’s, Bangalore would need to lose by more than five runs. A washout in Bangalore, and a Mumbai defeat, would also knock Rajasthan out, and send RCB into the playoffs.