Sanju Samson’s Rajasthan Royals (RR) thwarted the Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) bid to strengthen their playoff chances in match No.56 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Eden Gardens on Thursday. The Yashasvi Jaiswal-inspired RR side defeated Nitish Rana’s KKR to stay in the ongoing season’s playoff race. Opener Jaiswal hit a record-breaking half-century to help RR beat KKR in a one-sided match at Eden Gardens.
After completing the run-chase in 13.1 overs, Samson’s RR side improved their Net Run Rate (NRR) to 0.633. In the IPL 2023 standings, RR is third, followed by defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI). KKR are seventh in the table, and Rana’s men can only finish with a maximum of 14 points. On the IPL 2023 points table, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are only two points behind RR and MI. In the current standings, RR and MI are only one point ahead of fifth-placed Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
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On Friday, Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians will face Gujarat Titans in IPL 2023 match No. 57 at the Wankhede Stadium. Even if they lose to GT at home, the record-time winners will have earned 16 points. MI must then win their next two games after the home game against GT. This season, both RCB and Punjab Kings can score 16 points. Thus, if Rohit’s men win all three of their remaining league games this season, they can still finish in the top two. MI will have to rely on other results if they suffer two defeats in their last three matches.