With eight points from 12 games and a net run rate of -0.212, Mumbai Indians are ninth on the points table. They have the same points as Gujarat Titans, whose net run rate reads -1.320, but GT have a match in hand.

MI, thus, are on the brink of being eliminated – and are hanging by the thinnest of threads. Here is where the ten teams stand ahead of the clash between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow Super Giants on May 8.

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To begin with, MI have to win both their remaining matches, against Kolkata Knight Riders on May 11 and against LSG on May 17. That is the only way they can reach 12 points, something six teams have already achieved.

MI will be eliminated unless they win both their remaining matches – and that is a necessary condition, not a sufficient one. MI will not catch up with Kolkata Knight Riders (16) or Rajasthan (16), so their best bet is to ensure at most three other teams get more than 14.

Let us now shift our focus to the two matches on May 8 (SRH versus LSG) and May 14 (Delhi Capitals versus LSG). All three teams involves in these are tied on 12 points each. As discussed before, MI can afford only one of these teams to score more points than they already have.

The only way for that to happen is to ensure LSG beat both SRH and DC. If that does not happen, MI will be eliminated. For example, if SRH win tonight, they will reach 14, as will the winner of DC versus LSG – which, as we have discussed, is outside MI’s reach.

Will LSG winning both matches be sufficient? Not quite, for SRH and DC have other matches left, and CSK are on 12 points as well. For MI to win, the universe needs to conspire – not only to prevent six other teams from not scoring more than 12 but also to give MI the necessary net run rate boost.

Whether all that happens remains to be seen, but MI’s many permutations begin tonight, with the SRH-LSG clash.