Two matches today, four teams fighting for their IPL 2026 season — the full playoff picture explained before it all kicks off

The Punjab Kings (PBKS), who have lost five consecutive games of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, will face the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on the afternoon of May 17 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala. It will be a do-or-die situation for the runners-up of the previous edition. 

In the evening, the Delhi Capitals (DC) will host the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. RR is in a good position to secure a spot among the top four in the playoffs, while Delhi has a very slim chance of qualification.

PBKS and RCB— The match that eliminates someone

In the fixture between the RCB and PBKS sides, the Shreyas Iyer-led side has an easier route to qualify for the playoffs. If they win two of their remaining games and get to 17, they can easily make it into the top four of the points table. 

With the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) losing to the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), it’s now impossible for four other teams to get to 17 or beyond, which means their fate rests in their hands. If they reach 15 points, then they will be at the mercy of other results.

See Also: PBKS have lost five in a row and now face the IPL leaders — can Shreyas Iyer find an answer at Dharamsala today?

If RCB lose both games, they could be eliminated as the four other sides- GT, SRH, RR, and PBKS can all finish on more than 16. If they win both games, the team under India's Rajat Patidar's captaincy is sure to finish inside the top two. 

RR vs DC— The safer path to Playoffs that isn’t safe at all

RR, who began the campaign with four consecutive victories, has won only two games out of the last seven encounters. If they win all three, they will qualify for sure with 18 points. Their three remaining games are against teams in the bottom four- including the two- MI and LSG, who are already eliminated.

However, all of those teams have posted victories in their last games. After an extremely relaxed schedule, it will be frenetic for them. They can qualify with 14 points without NRR remaining possible, but only if several results fall in place, including defeats for Punjab and Chennai.

For the Axar Patel-led side, the equation is simple. They need to win their remaining two games by big margins and finish on 14 points. However, at -0.0993, it’s easily the worst among all sides. 

The exact scenarios— Who goes through and on what conditions

RCB has the best chance of winning the last two games and qualifying among the top four spots, including a strong chance of finishing among the top two sides.

See Also: Delhi Capitals have lost 4 of their last 5 in IPL 2026 — Is this the worst collapse in DC's history?

Meanwhile, that will be the same case with the Gujarat Titans, if they beat the Super Kings in their last game at home with 18 points, but they will need Hyderabad and Rajasthan to lose one of the three games.

Moreover, if CSK gets two successive wins against SRH and GT and gets a better NRR than SRH, they can easily get among the top four. They will also hope the Hyderabad side loses against RCB in Hyderabad during their last contest.