Delhi Capitals suffered their sixth defeat of the season on Sunday, losing to a dominant Gujarat Titans at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Following the 10-wicket loss, DC, who had led the IPL points table for most of the season, have now dropped to fifth place. More importantly, their net run rate has also taken a beating, falling to +0.260 compared to Mumbai Indians’ +1.156.
However, DC’s hopes are not yet faded as they still have the chance to reach the playoffs with two matches remaining in the tournament.
How can Delhi Capitals qualify for IPL 2025 Playoffs?
Delhi Capitals will next face off against the Mumbai Indians on 21 May, followed by the Punjab Kings on 24 May. If they win both matches, they will qualify for the IPL 2025 Playoffs regardless of their net run rate. However, if they lose to MI, their hopes will be dashed as MI will qualify for the playoffs with 16 points, while DC could only reach 15 points (even if they win their final match against Punjab Kings).
However, if the Delhi Capitals win against the Mumbai Indians but lose the final match against the Punjab Kings, they will need both the Mumbai Indians and the Lucknow Super Giants to lose their remaining matches so that they do not reach 16 points.
Notably, the Gujarat Titans, the Punjab Kings and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru have already qualified for the IPL 2025 playoffs after the DC vs GT match on Sunday. Earlier in the day, PBKS had also secured a 10-run victory against Rajasthan Royals.
GT lead the pack with 18 points from 12 matches, while RCB and PBKS have 17 points from the same number of matches and are currently in second and third place in the IPL points table, respectively. These three franchises will now compete to finish in the top two spots, while the remaining three franchises battle to find a way into the IPL 2025 Playoffs.