Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) fell out of the IPL 2025 playoffs race on Monday night, leaving Mumbai Indians (MI) and Delhi Capitals (DC) fighting for the last remaining slot in the top four.

In their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Monday, LSG made a storming start, with Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram putting on 115 at close to 11 runs an over. 

But SRH’s bowlers hit back with clever use of the old ball and limited them to 205, a total that proved inadequate in the face of a thrilling display of six-hitting from Abhishek Sharma.

SRH were already out of contention for the playoffs when this match began, but they showed their strength in their batting line up – even without Travis Head, who missed out after a bout of Covid-19 delayed his return to India.

Abhishek hit six sixes in a 20-ball 59, turning his team-mates’ task straightforward; with Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen and Kamindu Mendis also getting past 30, SRH reached their target with ten balls remaining, ESPNcricinfo reported.

LSG’s batting, yet again, was over-reliant on their big three, with Nicholas Pooran scoring 45 off 26 balls on the back of the openers’ half-centuries, and no one else reaching double figures. 

Having scored 108 for no loss in the first ten overs, LSG only managed 97 for 7 in the back half, as SRH’s bowlers pulled them back with their changes of pace.

The match officially ended in the 19th over, but its symbolic end came in the 14th, when Kamindu hit Digvesh Rathi for three clinical, back-to-back fours in his final over.

Speaking after the match, LSG’s captain Rishabh Pant said injuries to key personnel created “lot of gaps” that played a part in the team’s underwhelming IPL 2025. 

“It couldn’t be the best season for us,” Pant said. 

“Getting into the tournament we knew a lot of gaps were there because of injuries. We decided we won’t talk about that, but it became difficult to close out those gaps.”

Pant was seemingly referring to the prolonged absence of several key players. Left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan missed the entire season, while express quick Mayank Yadav, one of LSG’s prized retentions, spent most of the tournament on the sidelines. 

Other big-money signings Avesh Khan and Akash Deep also struggled with fitness issues and joined the playing XI only midway through the season.

“The way we planned the auction, if we had the same bowling [attack], the story would be different,” Pant said. 

“At the same time, this is cricket, things can happen. Sometimes they go your way, sometimes they don’t. Need to take pride in the way we’re playing. Need to look at the positives other than discussing more on the negative side.”

Tuesday, May 20: Match 62

Today’s match will see Chennai Super Kings take on Rajasthan Royals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, in Delhi. 

Fans in Afghanistan can tune in to Ariana Television from 5:30pm to watch the match live. 

Three teams have secured their places in the IPL 2025 playoffs following Gujarat Titans’ (GT) victory over Delhi Capitals (DC) on Sunday night. The three teams are GT, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS).

The result left just one playoff spot available, with DC, Mumbai Indians (MI) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in contention for it.

GT’s win on Sunday put them on top of the table with 18 points, followed by RCB and PBKS in second and third place respectively with 17 points each.

All of them have played 12 games. The maximum LSG can get if they win their remaining three games is 16 points; while only one of MI (currently on 14) and DC (currently on 13) can get to 17 or more because they play each other on May 21, ESPNcricinfo reported. 

If DC lose to MI, they will be eliminated. If MI lose to DC, they will need to win their final fixture against PBKS and hope that DC lose their last league match to PBKS, and for LSG to lose at least one of their remaining three games.

GT are making the playoffs for the third time in four IPL seasons; RCB for the fifth time in six years. PBKS are guaranteed a top-four finish for the first time since IPL 2014. 

The turnaround is a landmark moment for the franchise under their new captain Shreyas Iyer and coach Ricky Ponting, ESPNcricinfo reported.

While GT, RCB and PBKS have booked their places in the playoffs, they are still competing to finish in the top two, which will give them two chances of making the final. 

The teams that finish one and two on the points table play each other in Qualifier 1 for a direct route to the final. The loser of Qualifier 1 plays the winner of the Eliminator (between teams that finish No. 3 and 4) for a place in the final.

Most foreign players, with a few exceptions, are expected to return for IPL 2025 when the tournament resumes on Saturday, May 17, after a week-long suspension due to cross-border conflict between India and Pakistan. 

Gujarat Titans, who are sitting at the top of the points table, are undoubtedly pleased that England batter Jos Buttler and South Africa fast bowler Gerald Coetzee will rejoin the team today, Wednesday, May 14.

Buttler and Coetzee were the only two overseas players from the GT squad who left India when the tournament was suspended. 

The team’s other overseas players – Rashid Khan, Sherfane Rutherford, Kagiso Rabada and Karim Janat – had stayed with the rest of the squad in India.

However, some players will leave before playoffs, including Rutherford who has been named in the West Indies ODI squad for the series in England from May 29 to June 3.

With Buttler named in England’s white-ball squads, there is a chance that he could also miss the playoffs. 

“We’re keen to support the IPL and the BCCI in getting the schedule up and running, and to facilitate players’ return should they choose to go back,” an England Cricket Board spokesperson said on Tuesday after the squad announcement.

GT, who currently lead the points table with 16 points – ahead of Royal Challengers Bengaluru on net run rate – have three matches left in the league phase. 

Their next match is on Sunday, May 18, against Delhi Capitals in Delhi.

The Australian pair of Pat Cummins and Travis Head are likely to rejoin the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) squad although both players were named in Australia’s Test squad for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa at Lord’s from June 11.

Their departure last week from India raised questions over whether they would return for the IPL considering SRH are already out of contention for the playoffs.

Other teams could however face a few setbacks as Jacob Bethell, from Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Will Jacks, from Mumbai Indians, also appear set to miss the rearranged IPL 2025 playoffs after they were named in England’s squad for a home ODI series against West Indies.

Bethell and Jacks, who both left the country last week, will return to India for their team’s next two fixtures.

England named a 16-man squad on Tuesday for their three-match ODI series against West Indies, which starts on May 29. 

The IPL’s group stage now runs until May 27, with the playoffs starting on May 29 and running until the final on June 3. 

Gujarat Titans, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians are all well-placed to qualify for the final stages.

Jofra Archer, from Rajasthan Royals, and Jamie Overton, from Chennai Super Kings, were also named in the ODI squad, but their franchises have already been knocked out of contention for the IPL’s knockout stages. 

According to ESPNcricinfo, Overton is unlikely to return to India for the league’s resumption.

While Bethell’s absence is a blow for RCB, their two other English players, Liam Livingstone and Phil Salt, are set to be available for the rest of the IPL after they were dropped from England’s ODI squad. 

Salt has been included for the T20I series which starts on June 6, three days after the IPL final, while Livingstone has been left out entirely.

Meanwhile there are two players in the West Indies ODI squad likely to be affected by the clash of dates: Romario Shepherd (RCB) and Sherfane Rutherford (GT). 

Shamar Joseph is also involved in both the ODI squad and the IPL, though his team, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), are not well-placed to qualify for the playoffs.

Shepherd and Rutherford were both expected to miss West Indies’ ODIs against Ireland from May 21-25, and they will likely be allowed to stay at the IPL until their respective franchises’ seasons are over. 

Meanwhile, three Punjab Kings overseas players – Xavier Bartlett, Azmatullah Omarzai and Mitchell Owen – have confirmed that they will return to play the remainder of IPL 2025.

There is no confirmation yet on whether their other overseas players – Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Josh Inglis, and Aaron Hardie – will return to India. 

Jansen and Inglis were named in South Africa and Australia’s Test squads respectively for the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord’s from June 11.

Despite all the PBKS overseas players returning home, most of their overseas coaching staff stayed in India, including head coach Ricky Ponting and assistant coaches Brad Haddin and James Hopes. The franchise has asked its players and support staff to reassemble in the next two days.

The IPL released the revised schedule for the remainder of the season on Monday: there are 13 league games to go, in addition to the four playoff fixtures.

The rest of the league phase will be played at six venues – Delhi, Jaipur, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Bengaluru – while the venues for the playoffs have not yet been announced.

The dates for the playoffs are as follows: Qualifier 1 on May 29, the Eliminator on May 30, Qualifier 2 on June 1 and the final on June 3.

Ariana Television Network will meanwhile resume its broadcast of the tournament from Saturday. Fans across Afghanistan can tune in on Ariana Television to watch the matches live. 

Fans can also keep an eye on Ariana News and Ariana Television’s websites and social media pages for the last news, updates and schedules.