EXPLAINER
Follow UsOn May 16 (Thursday), Sunrisers Hyderabad, on the back of the washout against Gujarat Titans (GT), ensured qualification for the playoffs of IPL 2024.
However, while the shared point has sealed playoff qualification for SRH, it has also dented their chances of finishing in the top two.
As it stands, the table looks like this
Thanks to the washout, SRH can now only get to a maximum of 17 points. So now there are two scenarios in which SRH can finish second
> SRH beat PBKS and RR lose to KKR
> SRH beat PBKS and RR vs KKR ends in a washout
Now, there is a third scenario that could arise if SRH vs PBKS ends in a washout and RR end up losing to KKR.
In that case, SRH will have 16 points and so will RR. But SRH will have a superior Net Run Rate compared to RR. So that will automatically mean SRH surpassing RR and finishing second, right?
Nope. Here’s why.
Why SRH will finish below RR if it’s a 16-point tie despite having better NRR
In case of a 16-point tie between SRH and RR, one would probably assume that SRH will leapfrog RR by virtue of better NRR. However, here’s the important part: NRR does not get first preference when it comes to the points table, according to the IPL rules.
What gets first preference (serves as the first tie-breaker) is the number of wins each side has posted.
So in the hypothetical scenario that SRH and RR finish on 16 points, and SRH have a better NRR, it will still be RR who will finish second, thanks to having more wins (8) than SRH (7).
According to the IPL rulebook:
16.10.2 Where teams have an equal number of points their relative positions shall be determined by the following:
16.10.2.1 The team with the most wins in matches in the League during the season will be placed in the higher position;
16.10.2.2 If there are teams with equal points and equal wins during the season, then in such case the team with the higher net run rate (as calculated in clause 16.12 below) will be placed in the higher position.
It comes under clause 16.10, which you can check out here.
Has this ever happened previously?
Yes, this exact scenario played out in IPL 2015. MI, RCB, and RR all finished with 16 points, and MI had the worst NRR among the three. However, MI finished second by virtue of having more wins in the league stages.
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