The 2025 edition of the IPL is heading towards an exciting finish with a little over three weeks of action left in the league stage. Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals have been trendsetters in the tournament thus far, but there are as many as four teams in pursuit of the other two spots.
Mumbai Indians’ late charge has made the table and race to the qualification interesting with as many as six teams in fray for the four spots in the playoffs in the ongoing season of the IPL. Mumbai Indians have won four matches in a row in the IPL for the first time since 2019 and look good to get those remaining points with the batters back in the form and the likes of Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult looking really solid with the ball.
MI have incurred four defeats and hence, need to be extra careful as the four teams above them have at least one less defeat against their name and can’t afford any slip-ups as they continue to worry the other teams. Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals have been the trendsetters in the tournament thus far and are comfortably placed for a top-two finish. However, surprisingly, Ambati Rayudu didn’t have the Capitals in his top four while former Australian captain Aaron Finch didn’t consider any of the RCB and the Punjab Kings, currently placed third and fifth respectively, powerful enough to make the playoffs.
The Titans were preferred by all eight experts on Star Sports, except Sanjay Bangar, keeping them optional, while a few of them picked RCB, a few of them Punjab Kings in fourth place and seven of the eight had Mumbai Indians as their pick.
Top 4 predictions from Star Sports expert panel (before RCB vs RR game)
- Aaron Finch: GT, DC, MI, LSG
- Ambati Rayudu: GT, RCB, PBKS, MI
- Mark Boucher: GT, DC, RCB, MI
- Sanjay Bangar: DC, RCB, PBKS, GT/MI
- Piyush Chawla: GT, DC, PBKS, MI
- Pragyan Ojha: GT, DC, MI, RCB
- Mohammad Kaif: GT, DC, RCB, PBKS
- Abhinav Mukund: GT, DC, RCB, MI
RCB, after the Thursday game, added two more points to their tally and have reached the 12-point mark, as three teams with six wins will feel a little safer. Lucknow Super Giants’ hot and cold run hasn’t helped their cause and Punjab Kings will feel that they are falling a bit behind,d having lost two of their last three games.
With six teams in the fray, the competition will be intense and it seems like four teams will be competing for the remaining two spots. Can Punjab Kings break their jinx or will Mumbai Indians make the final four.
