The Punjab Kings (PBKS) emerged victorious in a last-ball thriller against the Chennai Super Kings at the Chepauk with Sikandar Raza taking his side over the line when 3 runs were needed off the last ball. This was after they had lost by a big margin to Lucknow Super Giants who had piled up 257 runs.
However, PBKS have done well to make sure that their NRR isn’t hurt too badly and it’s -0.447 after their win over CSK, their 5th win in 9 matches.
Punjab Kings had started the IPL 2023 with a couple of impressive wins before losing two in a row. Since then, they have had a sequence of W, L, W, L, W. With 5 wins in 9 matches, Shikhar Dhawan’s team is placed 5th in the points table, but have a slightly dented NRR compared to RCB, who are 6th positioned with two points less and one game in hand.
How can Punjab Kings (PBKS) still qualify for playoffs in IPL 2023?
Yes, Punjab Kings, who have 10 points in 9 matches, are very much alive in the playoff race in IPL 2023. They must win at least 3 of the remaining 5 matches to make a strong case for a playoff berth.
Let’s go back to the 10-team IPL 2022 tournament to see what is the least amount of points for which a team could qualify in the playoffs.
In the 10-team IPL 2022, the team at the 4th spot to reach the playoffs was RCB, who had 16 points while DC and PBKS with 14 points each just missed the playoffs. A win for both of them would have pipped them over RCB because of their better NRR.
So, Punjab Kings, it can be said, will need at least 3 wins in their remaining 5 games to make a strong contention for a playoff spot, although they would also have to try to win by big margins and lose by small margins to boost their NRR.
Their next match is against Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians on May 3.
