IPL 2026: How Soon Can All-Win Rajasthan Royals Qualify For Playoffs?

Four games in, Rajasthan Royals (RR) could not have had a better start to their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 campaign. Despite star wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson's departure and Riyan Parag assuming captaincy duties in the aftermath, RR have notched up four straight victories.

On Friday (April 11), it was a Vaibhav Sooryavanshi-Dhruv Jurel show that took them comfortably over the line against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Chasing the defending champions' 202-run target, the Royals rode Sooryavanshi's irrepressible fifty (78 off 26) and Jurel's unbeaten knock (81 not out off 43) to canter home in 18 overs, with six wickets intact at Guwahati's Barsapara Stadium.

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The superlative displays have raised hopes of RR's early passage to the playoffs. The table-toppers need five more wins to be absolutely certain of a playoffs berth, with 18 points. But they could well make the cut with eight total wins, or 16 points. In fact, depending on how other matches pan out and where other teams stand, even seven wins (14 points) might prove sufficient. The picture will be clearer after a few more league-phase rounds.

RR's Previous Finishes

Having won the inaugural IPL edition in 2008 under the legendary Shane Warne, RR have not laid hands on the trophy since. Their next best performance came in 2022, when they reached the final but finished as runners-up.

In 2025, they were the second team to be eliminated from the league and finished the season in ninth place with four wins from 14 matches. In IPL 2024, Rajasthan qualified for the playoffs, finishing the league stage in third place with eight wins and 17 points. They beat RCB in the Eliminator but lost to SunRisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2.