Last night’s encounter between RCB and GT was crucial for the Punjab Kings’ chances of making it to the Tata IPL 2022 playoffs. Ultimately, RCB’s 8-wicket win against Gujarat Titans at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Thursday eliminated all opportunities for the Kings to grab a top-four spot in the IPL points table.

A win for the table-toppers Gujarat would have kept RCB at 14 points and Punjab alive in the race for qualification given our favorable net run rate.

With this win, RCB moved to 16 points, four more than PBKS on the IPL points table, and also into the top four of the points table. RCB's poor NRR means they still face a threat from Delhi Capitals who are in the fifth position with 14 points and one more game to go.

The Punjab Kings have 12 points currently with a final game against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday. Even a win in that match would mean 14 points at the most, still falling at least two points behind currently fourth-placed RCB.

The run of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Tata IPL 2022 was also cut short by the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s win on Thursday night. They also are at 12 points, and stand at a position similar to Punjab Kings.

If Delhi Capitals lose their final game to MI too, PBKS can aim for a fifth place finish by beating SRH handsomely enough to get a better net run rate than DC's.

So far, the Punjab Kings have six wins in 13 matches, winning alternate games and staying in the tournament until the very last week of the Tata IPL.

In their most recent game, the Kings lost to the Delhi Capitals by 17 runs, allowing a chance at the playoffs to slip away from their control.

With pride to play for and exciting match-ups lined up in their ranks, PBKS will take on SRH in the league stage’s final game scheduled on Sunday night. With nothing to lose, one can expect the teams to go all-out in their last encounter.