MI, LSG officially eliminated from the IPL 2026 playoffs race

On May 10th, two teams were eliminated from the IPL 2026 playoffs race. In the first match of the day, the Lucknow Super Giants were knocked out of the playoff race after losing to the Chennai Super Kings; meanwhile, in the second match, five-time champions Mumbai Indians were defeated by Royal Challengers Bengaluru, thereby losing their last remaining hopes of reaching the playoffs.

The Mumbai Indians, in fact, lost a match that they had all but won, falling short on the very last ball. With this, only eight teams now remain in contention for a spot in the playoffs. The current top four teams are RCB, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Titans, and Punjab Kings, while Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Delhi Capitals still have a chance to qualify for the playoffs. Notably, the margins between the top six teams are extremely narrow, and the landscape of the points table shifts with every single match. 

Both the Mumbai Indians and Lucknow teams suffered their eighth defeat of the season. Both MI and LSG have accumulated only 6 points from 11 matches each, and the teams currently sit in the 9th and 10th positions on the points table, respectively.

How MI, LSG out of IPL 2026 playoffs contention?

In the first match of the day, after being invited to bat first, Lucknow Super Giants posted a total of 203/8, powered by Josh Inglis's 85 runs and Shahbaz Ahmed's 43. In reply, CSK successfully chased down this target in 19.2 overs, thanks to a blistering innings of 65 runs off just 23 balls by Urvil Patel, followed by Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad's 42 off 28 balls and Sanju Samson's 28 off 14 balls. The hero of the victory was Urvil Patel, who completed his half-century in a mere 12 deliveries. His innings featured a total of 8 sixes and 2 fours.

In the second match of the day, held in Raipur, the Mumbai Indians faced off against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. In this match, riding on contributions from Tilak Varma (57), Naman Dhir (47), and Rohit Sharma (22 off 10 balls), MI recovered from early setbacks inflicted by Bhuvneshwar Kumar to post a total of 166/7. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the pick of the bowlers, claiming 4 wickets for 23 runs in his 4 overs. While chasing this target, RCB got off to a very poor start; the team lost its first three wickets—Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, and Captain Rajat Patidar—with the score at just 39 runs. 

However, this marked the entry of Krunal Pandya, who not only stemmed the fall of wickets but also initiated the chase. Krunal Pandya played a magnificent innings of 73 runs against his former franchise, featuring 4 fours and 5 sixes. He received excellent support from Jacob Bethell (27 off 27) and Jitesh Sharma (18 off 12). However, a sudden flurry of wickets towards the end allowed MI to stage a comeback in the match. 

In the final over, RCB required 15 runs to win. MI skipper Suryakumar Yadav entrusted the bowling responsibility to young Raj Bawa, who—despite conceding a total of 5 extras in the over—dismissed Romario Shepherd after giving away just 6 runs in the initial 3 deliveries. However, his fourth delivery landed right in Bhuvneshwar Kumar's slot, who promptly dispatched it for a six. A single came off the fifth ball, bringing the equation down to 2 runs needed off the final delivery. On the last ball, Rasikh Salam (3* off 2) played a straight shot; the ball deflected off Raj Bawa's hand and rolled towards long-on, and by the time the throw could return, both batsmen had scampered for two runs, securing a victory for RCB. With this win, RCB has once again climbed to the top of the points table.