Going into the last week of the 2026 Indian Premier League’s (IPL) league stage, the playoff race is wide open, as no team apart from Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) has qualified so far. In fact, the table is not just tight on point, but quite incredibly, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) are even on Net Run Rate (NRR) after playing 12 games each.
Before CSK takes the field against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Chennai in their 13th game of the season on Monday (May 18), both teams have 12 points (six wins, six defeats) with a NRR of 0.027. Currently, CSK are 5th on the table, and RR are 6th, but both have played one match less than Punjab Kings (PBKS).
What Happens If Two Teams Finish Level On Points And NRR?
This means that if CSK and RR win both their remaining games, they will be tied on points (16) with each other in the fourth and fifth spots with only one of them in contention to qualify. If after the 14th game, the NRR remains the same, here is what happens.
As per section 16.10 of the IPL’s playing conditions, in case of the rare scenario of two teams being equal on points and NRR, the team with the better ratio of wickets taken per fair balls will qualify. If even that is equal, a draw will be conducted to determine the team that finishes higher and qualifies.
IPL Playing Conditions – Full Text
16.10.2.2 If there are teams with equal points and equal wins during the season, then in such case the team with the higher net run rate (as calculated in clause 16.12 below) will be placed in the higher position;
16.10.2.3 If following the net run rate calculation above there are teams which are still equal, then the team with the higher number of wickets taken per fair balls bowled in the matches played that season in which results were achieved will be placed in the higher position;
16.10.2.4 If still equal at the end of the regular season then the team position will be determined by drawing lots.
16.10.3 References in clause 16.10 to ‘matches’ shall not include the play-off matches.
What Does This Mean?
For those unversed, this means that teams that have a better ratio of wickets taken as per the balls they bowled in a season will qualify. It is worth noting that this does not just apply to the team with more wickets but also to the one with a better rate of taking wickets. Essentially, the number of wickets a team took across the league stage is divided by the number of balls they bowled. It is worth noting that extras will not be calculated in the calculation, and even washed-out games will not be included.
In case even that is level, it will come to luck with a random draw where chits will be picked to determine who goes ahead.
Why CSK Are Ahead Of RR Right Now?
One must also remember that NRR calculation goes beyond what the table shows and has more decimal points. While the official table shows up to four places, the real number has more. For example currently CSK are ahead of RR on NRR (CSK