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The IPL playoff race continues to heat up. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) secured an emphatic seven-wicket win against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Monday, April 8. Despite the victory, the points table rankings remained unchanged, with Ruturaj Gaikwad-led CSK holding onto fourth place and KKR remaining comfortably in second. KKR's batting fizzled out in front of CSK's sharp bowling unit. Riding on Tushar Deshpande and Ravindra Jadeja's three-fers CSK restricted KKR to a paltry total of 137/9. In reply, CSK chased down the lowly target with seven wickets and 14 balls to spare.
The previous day saw some movement in the standings. The Lucknow Super Giants climbed to third after their impressive 33-run victory over the Gujarat Titans. Meanwhile, the Mumbai Indians finally secured their first win of the season, defeating the Delhi Capitals. Thanks to explosive batting displays from Romario Shepherd and Tim David, Mumbai posted a mammoth total of 234/5, the fourth highest of the IPL so far. This win propelled them to eighth place in the table, while Delhi Capitals now find themselves at the bottom due to an unfavorable net run rate.
ALSO READ: 'I am glad this happened': Why did Shreyas Iyer say this despite KKR's seven-wicket loss to CSK?
A look at IPL 2024's updated points table after CSK vs KKR's clash:
| Pos | Team | Mat | Won | Lost | Points | NRR |
| 1 | Rajasthan Royals | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | +1.120 |
| 2 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | +1.528 |
| 3 | Lucknow Super Giants | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | +0.775 |
| 4 | Chennai Super Kings | 5 | 3 | 2 | 6 | +0.666 |
| 5 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | +0.409 |
| 6 | Punjab Kings | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -0.220 |
| 7 | Gujarat Titans | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -0.797 |
| 8 | Mumbai Indians | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | -0.704 |
| 9 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | -0.843 |
| 10 | Delhi Capitals | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | -1.370 |
The race for the IPL 2024 playoffs is on. Currently, four teams are in contention for the coveted spots: Rajasthan Royals (RR), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), and Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Here's how the playoffs work
The Top Four: Only the top four teams in the final league standings will advance to the playoffs.
Qualifier 1: The teams ranked first and second will face off in Qualifier 1. The winner of this match automatically qualifies for the final.
Eliminator: The teams ranked third and fourth will battle it out in the Eliminator. The winner gets a second chance to reach the final.
Qualifier 2: The loser of Qualifier 1 and the winner of the Eliminator will play Qualifier 2. The victor of this match secures a spot in the final.
The Grand Finale: Scheduled for May 26, the final will determine the champion of IPL 2024.
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