The Rajasthan Royals secured their spot in the 2024 IPL playoffs after the Lucknow Super Giants lost to the Delhi Capitals on Tuesday. The Royals, currently on 16 points from 12 matches with eight wins, join the Kolkata Knight Riders in the postseason.
The Royals were well-positioned to be the first playoff qualifiers but stumbled with three straight defeats. They narrowly fell to the Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals before a lopsided loss to the Chennai Super Kings. Their remaining matches are against the Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders.
The Kolkata Knight Riders, meanwhile, sit comfortably atop the standings with nine wins in 13 matches and are assured of a top-two finish. The two-time champions are arguably the in-form team but face some uncertainty at the top of the order following the departure of Phil Salt.
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The Super Giants chased a total of 209 set by the Capitals, who benefited from strong batting performances by Abhishek Porel, Shai Hope, Rishabh Pant, and Tristan Stubbs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
LSG's response started poorly, with the score at 71-5 and only two batters from the top six reaching double digits. Arshad Khan provided a late spark with a blistering half-century (58 off 33 balls) that included three fours and five sixes, but it wasn't enough.
Ishant Sharma was the standout bowler for the Capitals, claiming figures of 4-0-34-3. Axar Patel, Mukesh Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, and Tristan Stubbs each took a wicket.
Despite the win, the Capitals' playoff hopes are slim and depend on other results going their way. Reaching the playoffs for the third consecutive time remains a distant dream for LSG.
