New twist in the playoff race: The equation of Chennai Super Kings is increasing the tension of Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals.

IPL 2026 has now reached its most exciting point. Even after completion of 52 matches, no team has officially reached the playoffs nor has any been eliminated. But meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings has shown such a ‘silent killer’ avatar, which has increased the tension of contending teams like RCB and Rajasthan Royals. Chennai, which had suffered three consecutive defeats at the beginning of the season, has now made a tremendous comeback and is in a position to completely turn the race for the playoffs.

On Saturday, Gujarat Titans created a big upset in the points table by defeating Rajasthan Royals by 77 runs. In the match played at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, Gujarat batted first and scored 229 runs. In reply, Rajasthan team was reduced to 152 runs. Rashid Khan’s lethal bowling broke the back of Rajasthan’s batting. After this defeat, Rajasthan slipped to fifth place with 12 points and from here the doors of playoff started opening for Chennai.

Chennai Super Kings is currently at sixth position with 10 points in 10 matches, but the team still has 4 matches left. These four matches can change the equation of the entire tournament. If Chennai wins all its remaining matches, it will have 18 points and the team can directly reach the top-2. This situation has become an alarm bell for both RCB and Rajasthan.

RCB currently has 12 points and has to face strong teams like Mumbai, Kolkata, Punjab and Hyderabad. If RCB loses three of its four matches and Chennai registers consecutive wins, then Bengaluru, despite having a better net run rate, could be out after being stuck on 14 points.

The position of Rajasthan Royals also does not look very strong. The team definitely has a chance to reach the maximum of 18 points, but poor net run rate and constant pressure are creating difficulties for them. Even one defeat in the remaining matches against Delhi, Lucknow and Mumbai can make the path difficult for Rajasthan, while two defeats can directly knock them out of the playoffs.

The biggest advantage that Chennai has is that some of its matches are against the same teams which are above it in the race for the playoffs. That means CSK will not only score points itself, but will also push back its rivals. Today’s match against Lucknow is considered very important. If Chennai wins this match by a big margin, then the team can enter the top-4 and Rajasthan will slip down.

The history of Chepauk also goes in favor of Chennai. CSK has always proved to be a dangerous team on home ground. In such a situation, if the team continues the winning streak under the captaincy of Ruturaj Gaikwad, then the picture of IPL 2026 playoffs can completely change. Now all eyes are on the next matches of Chennai, because these matches will decide who will go to the playoffs and whose dream will be shattered.