Chennai Super Kings’ loss to Mumbai Indians on Sunday (April 20) in IPL 2025 complicated their path to the playoffs. Here’s how they can still qualify.
This was CSK’s sixth loss in eight matches, leaving them bottom of the table with the league’s worst net run-rate of -1.392. They started the season with a win at home against MI, but went on to lose five straight matches in a row for the first time. They came into the match after a win against the Lucknow Super Giants but failed to maintain the momentum.
Despite making the playoffs 12 times in 16 seasons, they now need a dramatic turnaround to qualify. The silver lining: their fate is still in their own hands. If they miss out, it would be their first consecutive playoff absences.
🔙 to the process. #WhistlePodu 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/YNvVrNGh9z
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) April 21, 2025
Who will CSK play next?
April 25: Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Chennai, 7:30 PM
April 30: Chennai Super Kings vs Punjab Kings, Chennai, 7:30 PM
May 3: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Chennai Super Kings, Bengaluru, 7:30 PM
May 7: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata, 7:30 PM
May 12: Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals, Chennai, 7:30 PM
May 18: Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings, Ahmedabad, 3:30 PM
How can CSK qualify for IPL 2025 playoffs?
With five teams already on 10 points, CSK can afford at most two losses in their remaining six matches. However, their league-worst net run-rate (-1.392) puts them at risk even in a tiebreaker scenario.
Their safest path is winning all six to reach 16 points, ideally with an NRR boost. Winning five would leave them at 14 points – still a slim chance, as RCB proved last year by qualifying via NRR over CSK, DC, and LSG in a 14-point tie. This marked the lowest playoff cut-off since the 2022 expansion to 10 teams.
They are still in with a chance if they win four of the remaining six matches. In that scenario, not only is a massive NRR boost required for them to stay in contention, but also at least two of the top five sides need to suffer a drastic slump to end between the 10 and 12-point mark. Only once has a team qualified for the playoffs with a points tally as low as that, and that was Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2019.
