IPL 2017: What will happen to the points table if RPS (Rising Pune Supergiant) beat KXIP (Kings XI Punjab) and vice-versa

A do-or-die encounter for Steve Smith’s side

The battle for the Indian Premier League 2017 playoffs could not get any tighter as the Rising Pune Supergiant and Kings XI Punjab are set to face off against each other in a virtual quarter-final at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium in Pune. The winner will qualify for the playoffs while the loser will have to do with a 5^th place finish on the table. 

After the Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians’ respective victories yesterday against their opponents, here is how the top 5 of the IPL 2017 table looks: 

Pos.	Team	Matches	Win	Loss	NRR	Points
1	Mumbai Indians	14	10	4	+0.784	20
2	Sunrisers Hyderabad	14	8	5	+0.599	17
3	Kolkata Knight Riders	14	8	6	+0.641	16
4	Rising Pune Supergiant	13	8	5	-0.083	16
5	Kings XI Punjab	13	7	6	+0.296	14

The Rising Pune Supergiant have had a brilliant season under Steve Smith. After starting out with a couple of wins, they suffered a few losses but bounced back in style. They were on a four-match winning streak until the Delhi Daredevils defeated them by 7 runs in their previous encounter. 

Here is how the points table would look if RPS win their last match: 

 

Pos.	Team	Matches	Win	Loss	NRR	Points
1	Mumbai Indians	14	10	4	+0.784	20
2	Rising Pune Supergiant	14	9	5	TBD	18
3	Sunrisers Hyderabad	14	8	5	+0.599	17
4	Kolkata Knight Riders	14	8	5	+0.641	16
5	Kings XI Punjab	14	7	7	TBD	14

 

A win against KXIP would not only mean qualification but it would also mean a 2^nd place finish on the table thus meaning that they would get two shots at reaching the final of the tournament. 

However, they will have their task cut out as they face an in-form Kings XI Punjab side who have won their previous two matches and four out of their last five. Glenn Maxwell’s side have been hitting the right areas in all departments of the game and would be hoping to do so in their crucial tie against RPS as well. 

Here is how the points table would look if KXIP win:

 

Pos.	Team	Matches	Win	Loss	NRR	Points
1	Mumbai Indians	14	10	4	+0.784	20
2	Sunrisers Hyderabad	14	8	5	+0.599	17
3	Kolkata Knight Riders	14	8	6	+0.641	16
4	Kings XI Punjab	14	8	6	TBD(positive)	16
5	Rising Pune Supergiant	14	8	6	TBD(negative)	16

If KXIP beat RPS, they would be on the same number of points. However, KXIP would qualify based on their superior net run-rate. 

Note: KXIP could also finish in third place if they defeat RPS by a decent margin. However, it would not make much of a difference as they would still face KKR in the eliminator.