How KKR can make the playoffs, how CSK could miss out
A round-up of IPL news from May 8, 2013
ESPNcricinfo staff
08-May-2013
Kolkata Knight Riders' heavy defeat against Mumbai Indians on Tuesday has severely dented their chances of finishing in the top four, but they aren't quite out of the race yet. If other results go to plan, they could still finish a clear fourth with 16 points.
On the other hand, Chennai Super Kings are currently sitting pretty on 18 points, but they aren't entirely safe yet: if they lose all their remaining matches, they could drop down to fifth.
For Knight Riders to go through, three of the top teams will have to win a lot of matches and break away from the group, giving Knight Riders an opportunity to sneak in as the fourth team. If, for instance, Mumbai Indians win all their matches, and Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals lose no more than one each, then Mumbai and Super Kings will finish on 24 points, and Royals on 22. If Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad lose their remaining games, and if Kings XI Punjab win no more than two, then all three teams will stay on 14. Knight Riders will then be the only team on 16. For that to happen, though, they'll first need to win their remaining four matches, against Pune Warriors and Sunrisers (both away), and against Royal Challengers and Warriors (in Ranchi).
Meanwhile, four teams are within four points of Super Kings, and all of them have at least four games to go, which means there's a chance for all them to finish on at least 20. If, for instance, Royal Challengers, Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers win three, and if Mumbai win two of their remaining games (which is possible given the opponents they're playing against), all four teams will have either 20 or 22 points. Even if Super Kings win a game and go up to 20, qualification could still come down to net run rates since five teams could finish on 20 or more points.
'Worst day' tweets sent out from Tiwary account
Kolkata Knight Riders and India batsman Manoj Tiwary might or might not have had one of the worst days in his career on Tuesday. A tweet from Tiwary's handle, @tiwarymanoj, said: "2day is d worst day in my cricketin career .. Never ever gonna digest dis day all my life .." Later, Tiwary said the tweet was a result of his account being hacked: "Hi frnds .. My twitter account was hacked, someone sent misleadin tweets about being my worst day etc. I'm perfectly fine." Tiwary has missed the last five of Knight Riders' matches, including the one against Mumbai Indians, last playing for the team on April 24. In the seven IPL games he has played this season, he has 107 runs (six innings) at 17.83.
Kolkata Knight Riders and India batsman Manoj Tiwary might or might not have had one of the worst days in his career on Tuesday. A tweet from Tiwary's handle, @tiwarymanoj, said: "2day is d worst day in my cricketin career .. Never ever gonna digest dis day all my life .." Later, Tiwary said the tweet was a result of his account being hacked: "Hi frnds .. My twitter account was hacked, someone sent misleadin tweets about being my worst day etc. I'm perfectly fine." Tiwary has missed the last five of Knight Riders' matches, including the one against Mumbai Indians, last playing for the team on April 24. In the seven IPL games he has played this season, he has 107 runs (six innings) at 17.83.