With the Indian Premier League 2024 match between Gujarat Titans and Kolkata Knight Riders washed out in Ahmedabad, GT's hopes of qualifying for the play-offs too have been washed away. The Shubman Gill-led side, who topped the league stage in the last two seasons, will end outside the top four this time. (Full IPL Coverage | More Cricket News)
Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer's KKR are guaranteed a top-two finish in the league stage now. Five teams will fight for the three remaining play-off spots - Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings, Lucknow Super Giants, Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
KKR were the first team to confirm a play-offs berth this season, and seem to have upstaged RR as the favourites for the title. Kolkata have 19 points from 13 games, and their last league match is fittingly against Rajasthan, who they might end up facing in Qualifier 1. Should RR win their next game against a beleaguered Punjab Kings, the last league match of IPL 2024 (on Sunday, May 19 in Guwahati) could turn into a virtual dress rehearsal for Qualifier 1.
The assurance of a top-two finish also means that the Kolkata franchise will be competing in Qualifier 1 for the first time in 10 years. The two-time champions last played that fixture in 2014, when they ended up winning the title in Gautam Gambhir's captaincy.
KKR have made the play-offs seven times in the history of IPL. Let us take a look at the team's track record in the crunch phase, over the years:-
2011
Led by Gambhir in the 2011 edition, KKR finished fourth and qualified for the play-offs for the first time in the tournament. But they lost to Mumbai Indians in the eliminator, losing the chance to enter the final.
2012
Again led by Gambhir, KKR went the full distance in 2012, winning their maiden IPL title. They finished second in the league stage and beat Delhi Daredevils (now known as Delhi Capitals) in Qualifier 1 to enter the summit clash. In the final, the Eden Gardens-based franchise beat Chennai Super Kings to lift the trophy for the first time.
2014
The year 2014 saw Kolkata earning the crown for the second time in three seasons. With Gambhir at the helm again, KKR ended up second in the league stage and defeated Kings XI Punjab (now known as Punjab Kings) in Qualifier 1. The final saw the two teams meeting again, with the same result.
2016
KKR finished fourth out of eight teams in the IPL 2016 league phase, but lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the eliminator to crash out of title reckoning in the play-offs.
2017
The franchise ended up fourth again the following year in IPL 2017, and then defeated SRH in the eliminator to book a Qualifier 2 meeting with Mumbai Indians. MI then vanquished them and went on to win the trophy.
2018
In IPL 2018, KKR finished third in the league stage and faced off against RR in the eliminator, which the former won to meet SRH in Qualifier 2. Hyderabad prevailed in this encounter to dash Kolkata's hopes.
2021
Led by Eoin Morgan, the Knight Riders ended as runners-up in IPL 2021. Though they were placed fourth out of eight teams after the league stage, KKR won the eliminator against Royal Challengers Bangalore (now Royal Challengers Bengaluru) and then Qualifier 2 against Delhi Capitals to storm into the final. But CSK proved too good in the summit meeting.
