From the dominance of Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders and SunRisers Hyderabad at the top of the table to the disappointing performances of Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the bottom, the Indian Premier League 2024 points table has witnessed contrasting fortunes.
A handful of teams still have a point to prove in the second half of the season and some of these teams are Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians. The last time these sides faced off, hosts MI recorded a comfortable 29-point win at the Wankhede Stadium earlier this season.
They fell short trying to chase a target of 235, although Delhi Capitals did take home positives from the match, especially in the form of Tristan Stubbs chasing MI bowlers from ball one. The South African batsman scored an unbeaten 71 off 25 balls, including seven towering sixes.
Since then, Delhi has won three of the four matches and can secure a play-off spot if it continues to win the remaining matches. After the defeat to MI, a pair of wins against Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans have made their ideal team combination much clearer, with skipper Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel returning to form with the bat.
Moreover, the fact that stalwart top-order hitter Jake Fraser-McGurk is firing on all cylinders for DC in the power play is just the icing on the cake for the team.
After packing their batting with overseas options, DC need to polish their India-heavy bowling attack as they almost failed to defend 224 runs against GT at the Arun Jaitley Stadium at home.
Skipper Pant has two quality bowlers in Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel to lead the spin department, but their pacers could perhaps do better. Regardless, all things considered, the path to the play-offs seems feasible for Delhi.
On the other hand, five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians seem a bit surprised this season under new skipper Hardik Pandya. They had a disappointing start to the IPL 2024, losing three matches in a row before getting their first points on the board.
None of their starting
Former captain Rohit Sharma is another player who has contributed to the team's top order after amassing 303 runs in eight matches at an average of 43.28 and a strike rate of 162.9.
Add to this the return of MI talisman Suryakumar Yadav to the side after being sidelined for the first few matches, and it is easy to see more confidence flowing through the team, such as their back-to-back wins against high-scoring encounters with DC and RCB suggest.
Mumbai Indians have also seen glimpses of the potential that their young players like Tilak Varma, Gerald Coetzee and Nehal Wadhera have to offer, but the team is yet to click as a unit and make a difference.
After winning just three of their eight matches so far, Hardik Pandya's MI need to be at their best and win almost all their remaining league matches to make it to the play-offs. With that in mind, here's a broad overview of how these teams can make it to the IPL 2024 play-offs.
Can Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians qualify for the IPL 2024 play-offs?
Interestingly, both DC and MI are set to face each other in their upcoming match on April 27 in Delhi and it is likely to be a clash of huge importance for both sides as the result will have a major impact on their play-off hopes of the team.
Technically, both DC and MI are still very much in the hunt for the IPL 2024 play-off race. If they win the rest of their league matches, they will qualify for the play-offs.
DC can get a maximum of 18 points and nine wins this season, which usually guarantees a play-off spot. Even if they lose to MI next time, they can still move to eight wins with 16 points, which has been enough for a play-off spot in recent seasons.
The same goes for MI, they can get a maximum of 18 points with nine wins to help them reach the play-offs. A loss to DC would mean they would have to win the rest of their matches to reach the play-offs without having to rely on other results.
That said, while the upcoming clash between DC and MI won't be a death blow to any team's play-off chances if they lose, it's worth noting that a defeat would put the defeated side in a very difficult situation in which they should win all matches. their remaining matches.
While all teams will have a clearer idea of what they need to do to qualify for the play-offs after ten matches, the upcoming clash between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians is of great importance as a loss for either team will put them in a tough battle for play-off qualification. .
The defeated side should win all their remaining matches, maintain a healthy net run rate and hope that other results go their way, making Saturday's match between DC and MI a crucial encounter with huge implications for IPL hopes 2024 playoffs for both teams.
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