IPL 2025 playoffs race: Mumbai Indians battle Delhi Capitals for final spot; all scenarios explained

A six-wicket win against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) has seen Lucknow Super Giants crash out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs race for yet another season without reaching the playoffs. Rishabh Pant-led LSG are the fifth team to be eliminated from the race for IPL 2025 playoffs, while Gujarat Titans (GT), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) have already reached the knockouts.

The fight for the final spot in the playoffs will only be fought between the Mumbai Indians (MI) and Delhi Capitals (DC). Currently, Hardik Pandya’s MI are fourth in the table with 14 points from 12 matches, while Axar Patel’s DC are a spot below with 13 points from 12 games.

Delhi Capitals or Mumbai Indians: who will reach IPL playoffs?

Both teams have two matches left in the league phase and face off against each other on Wednesday at the Wankhede Stadium. The scenarios are pretty clear for the two teams going into the match.

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If MI win the match, they will qualify for the playoffs, regardless of what happens in their last league match. A win against DC will propel MI to 17 points, something that Delhi will not be able to achieve even if they beat PBKS in their last league game.

However, if MI lose to DC on Wednesday, then the final playoff spot will be decided by how these teams perform in their last league matches. Both team, coincidentally, play their last IPL 2025 league matches against PBKS.

DC face PBKS on Saturday, while MI take on Punjab on Monday.

In case DC beat MI on Wednesday and also PBKS on Saturday, then they will reach the playoffs with 17 points, as Mumbai would only be able to reach 16 points even if they beat Punjab on Monday.

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However, if DC beat MI but fail to beat PBKS, then MI will qualify if they beat Punjab and take their points tally to 16.

In case DC beat MI but lose to PBKS and MI also lose to Punjab, then DC will qualify for the playoffs as it would have 15 points as compared to Mumbai’s 14.