IPL 2021 Points Table: Updated standings and qualifying scenarios after DC edge out MI
Delhi Capitals (DC) couldn't have picked a better match to avenge the IPL 2020 final loss against Mumbai Indians (MI). The Rishabh Pant-led side trounced the defending champions by four wickets in a nail-biter to seal their spot in the qualifiers and push Rohit Sharma's team to the brink of elimination.
MI's batting lineup once again showed familiar struggles on slow pitches by failing to cross 129 in the first innings. Only Suryakumar Yadav (33 off 26) showed the right blend of tenacity and aggression, with none of the other batters crossing the 20-run mark. Axar Patel and Avesh Khan shone with the ball and collected three-wicket hauls.
Yadav's knock was replied with an almost identical innings by his top-order competitor in the Indian team, Shreyas Iyer. The right-hander's run-a-ball 33 received support from skipper Rishabh Pant (26 off 22) and Ravichandran Ashwin (20 off 21). Ashwin made up for conceding the most runs in the first essay by finishing the game off with a commanding six off Krunal Pandya on the first ball of the final over.
A look at the updated IPL 2021 Points Table
What does this mean for DC?
MOOOOOOOOOD 💙✨
https://t.co/Hffw14XmHl
DC have now become the second team in the prefecture to get the famous 'Q' beside their name in the points table. They still have two games to play in the league stage and will now inevitably focus on making it to the top-two.
For that to happen, they will need to either win all of their remaining matches or at least one more than third-placed Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). However, this will be far from easy as their next two opponents are the current table-toppers Chennai Super Kings (CSK) - in Dubai on Monday - and RCB.
What does this mean for MI?
Just not our day in what turned out to be a close contest in Sharjah.
We will go again on Tuesday! 💪
#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #IPL2021 #MIvDC https://t.co/LDe8t1L2PI
MI's position in the points table wasn't impacted by the result of this game. However, they have surely missed a crucial opportunity to take the lead over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Punjab Kings (PBKS), and Rajasthan Royals (RR) and are now tied with the first two of those teams with 10 points.
Like DC, MI also have two games left before the qualifiers but they not only have to win both of them but do that with large margins. Their net run rate (NRR) is a mess at -0.453 and needs major improvement in the next two games if they have to edge over KKR (NRR of +0.302) and PBKS (-0.236).
Another way to qualify would be to hope that they reach 14 points but KKR, PBKS and RR don't. In either case, the five-time champions will have to bring out their A game against RR in Sharjah on Tuesday.
Impact on other teams in the Points Table
No other team moved in the points table. But as mentioned above, MI's loss would have come as a relief to the other three teams battling for fourth spot in the points table. The result is bitter-sweet news for Virat Kohli's RCB, who will be happy to know that they need just one more win to qualify. At the same time, they will be disappointed to see DC narrow their chances of finishing in the top-two.