Final four to fight out for playoff pecking order

KKR or Mumbai can surpass Royal Challengers on points if the latter lose to Chennai.

On the face of it,the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians at the Eden Gardens on Sunday is only of academic interest. Both teams have qualified for the playoffs and can afford to rest a few big guns with an eye on the tougher battles ahead. But both are likely to take the field with full strength squads as they are keen on finishing second in the table.

In the new IPL format,the loser of the top two teams in the play-off will get a second chance as they are drawn against the winner of the third and fourth teams before advancing to the final. Both Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians want to have that leeway.

Tomorrows first match between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore will determine if at all KKR or Mumbai Indians will get a chance to move into the second position in the playoff pecking order.

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By finishing in the top-two,you have a double chance of making it to the final, the Knight Riders batting mainstay Jacques Kallis said.

At the moment,Chennai Super Kings top the chart with 18 points from 13 matches and with a very healthy net run rate of +0.544. Royal Challengers follow them with 17 points and a net run rate of +0.283. Both KKR and Mumbai Indians have 16 points each but while Gautam Gambhirs team has a net run rate of +0.476,Sachin Tendulkars boys will have to win really big to up their net run from +0.033.

KKR or Mumbai,however,can surpass Royal Challengers on points if the latter lose to Chennai. In that case,whoever wins at Eden Gardens will finish second. If Royal Challengers win,they will go atop the table. KKR have a realistic chance to go past Chennai in the net run rate should they win by a big margin.

KKR coach Dav Whatmore thanked Kings XI Punjab for winning big against Royal Challengers. The big win by Punjab against Bangalore has boosted our chances to finish in the second spot, he said.

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Sachin Tendulkar hinted at some changes in the playing XI for Sundays game. There will be some changes,because its a different surface which requires different planning, he said.

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