On day 44 of Indian Premier League 2018 (IPL 2018), which happens to be the last day of the league stage matches, three teams will be looking to book a remaining one place in the playoffs. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have qualified for the IPL 2018 playoffs. Defending champions, Mumbai Indians (MI), Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) will have their eyes set on for a place in the next round. Out of these three teams, MI and KXIP will be in action while RR will be watching both these teams keenly.

If Mumbai wins their match, they will be through thanks to their superior run-rate. For Punjab to qualify they need to win by a specific margin. While MI and KXIP have their fate in their hands, RR will be banking on other results to go their way.

Highlights match Number 53 and 54 on May 19, 2018: Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders

RR kept themselves alive in contention for playoffs after a 30-run win over RCB. Chasing 165, RCB were restricted to 134 runs, with Shreyas Gopal (4/16) ripping through the top order. The defeat ended RCB’s campaign in the IPL 2018. Full Scorecard

Brief Scores: Rajasthan Royals 164/5 (Rahul Tripathi 80 not out, Ajinkya Rahane 33, Heinrich Klassen 32; Umesh Yadav 3/25) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 134 (AB de Villiers 53, Parthiv Patel 33; Shreyas Gopal 4/16, Ben Laughlin 2/15) by 30 runs.

In the second match on Saturday, KKR defeated table-toppers SRH by five wickets to book a place in the playoffs. KKR chased down the target of 173 with two balls to spare. Chris Lynn scored yet another half-century as KKR confirmed their place in the last four. Full Scorecard

Brief scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 172/9 (Shikhar Dhawan 50; Prasidh Krishna 4/30) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 173/5 in 19.4 overs (Chris Lynn 55, Robin Uthappa 45; Carlos Brathwaite 2/21, Siddarth Kaul 2/26) by five wickets.

Day 44 IPL 2018 Schedule: DD vs MI and CSK vs KXIP

Mumbai Indians will be looking for a win against Delhi Daredevils to make it to the next round. This will be the home game for Delhi, who in their last match defeated CSK. KXIP after an impressive start to IPL 2018, lost the momentum and now find themselves in a difficult position. They need to be CSK comprehensively to qualify for playoffs.

Day 44 Predictions; DD vs MI and CSK vs KXIP

Daredevils have nothing to lose and will take a cue from their last game against CSK, so Mumbai are in for a trouble. However, given Mumbai’s recent run, the defending champions should pass the Delhi test.

While KXIP eye a place in top four, CSK will be battling to stay in top two. The top two finish guarantees a double shy at the finals and CSK will be in no mood to let it go. And that makes them favourites.

A Look at the IPL 2018 points table

As mentioned earlier, SRH, CSK and KKR have qualified for the playoffs and occupy first, second and third place respectively. RR’s win over RCB have helped them climb to the fourth position. KXIP are down at seventh and face an uphill task. Check out the updated IPL 2018 points table with net run-rate.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 20, 2018 12:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).