2 min readUpdated: May 24, 2026 10:10 PM IST
IPL 2026 Playoffs Schedule: The race for the playoffs went down to the last day of matches in the league stage of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) but not exactly to the last match itself. As the first few overs of the match between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Delhi Capitals (DC) were bowled at the Eden Gardens, news emerged from the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai that Rajasthan Royals (RR) had sealed the last playoff spot by beating the Mumbai Indians (MI) by 30 runs.
KKR were the last realistic challengers to fourth spot while RR were always the frontrunners. Punjab Kings were had taken the position temporarily after finishing on 15 points with a victory over Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday. However, RR’s victory on Sunday took them to 16 points, thus allowing them to leapfrog PBKS and staying out of reach for KKR.
It marks a spectacular collapse for PBKS, who were among the favourites to go through as table-toppers at the end of the first half of the league stage, in which they were unbeaten in the first seven matches and had won six of them. They were competing with the likes of Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the top of the table. Unlike PBKS, RCB and SRH stayed in the top four and sealed their spots in the playoffs earlier, along with Gujarat Titans.
IPL Playoff Schedule:
Qualifier 1: RCB vs GT
May 26, HPCA Stadium Dharamshala
Eliminator: SRH vs RR
May 27, New International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh
Qualifier 2: Loser of Qualifier 1 vs Winner of Eliminator
May 28, New International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh
Final: Winner of Qualifier 1 vs Winner of Qualifier 2
May 31, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
How the top four line up in IPL 2026
Defending champions RCB have finished top of the table with 18 points while Gujarat Titans are second with as many. It is RCB’s NRR of 0.783 that keeps them ahead of GT (0.695) and SRH (0.524), who are also on 18 points. RCB will face GT in Qualifier 1 while SRH are up against RR in the Eliminator.
