IPL 2019: How Kolkata Knight Riders can qualify for the playoffs
IPL 2019, which kickstarted a month ago, has got into its middle stages as all the eight teams are battling it out to make into the playoffs. KKR being the team to look out for, is struggling to make it into playoffs as the team's batting order has not shone as expected. The only player who did well for almost all the games was Andre Russell. Apart from that there were one or two good performances but weren't worth for a win.
The only other performer for them in this season has been Chris Lynn, who found his form in the recent games. He has to stick to this form so that he can help the team secure a seat in the play-offs. The Australian has scored 264 runs in this season, including three fifties.
The most dependable and saviour of the knights is the T20 superstar Russell who is been on the cloud nine as his performance with the bat has been the talk of the town. The mighty West Indian has scored 372 runs for KKR this season and has won most of the games single-handedly.
KKR bowlers, who are usually top notch, are not doing well in this season. None of the bowlers has done well for them, including the Indian star spinner Kuldeep Yadav. He was dropped for one game after the expensive returns against RCB. The KKR Captain Dinesh Karthik is expected to make a comeback in next game.
Here is how KKR can still make it to the playoffs, despite having had a poor run of form in the middle stages of the tournament.
#1 If KKR win all four games
KKR is now placed at sixth position in points table and if they win their next four games, it's good enough for them to qualify for play-offs only if they keep their run rate positive. Out of four games, two will be played against Mumbai Indians, one against Kings XI Punjab and the other against Rajasthan Royals. Hence, they have a high chance to knock Mumbai out of the tournament.
#2 If KKR win three games
This is when the tricky part comes into play. If KKR wins three games, it means they will end the points table with 14 points which means Chennai and Delhi will be certain for the play-offs and the other teams will compete for the two spots.
Out of three wins, they will have to win both the games against Mumbai and if Mumbai loses any of their remaining two game,s they will be also with 14 points and then the net run rate will come into play.
If Mumbai loses all four games then it will be easy for KKR. On the other hand, if Punjab loses today, then KKR must beat them in their encounter and hope that SRH also will beat them.
To keep it simple KKR must win the next four games so that they don't have to depend on other teams to qualify.
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