Rajasthan Royals held on to the last play-off spot in the IPL as Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab both fell to defeats in their respective matches on Sunday.

The Royals had given themselves a great chance in the battle for the playoff spots after a 30-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday which put them in fourth spot in the league table.

Ajinkya Rahane’s men however needed Mumbai Indians to lose to Delhi Daredevils while hoping that Kings XI Punjab do not beat Chennai Super Kings by a huge margin to confirm their spot in the Eliminator.

Ultimately, defending champions Mumbai Indians were unable to script a fairytale run to the play-offs this time as they fell to a defeat at the hands of the Daredevils while Kings XI Punjab ended up losing by five wickets to Chennai.

This is only the fourth time in their history that the Royals have advanced to the play-off stages. They will meet Kolkata Knight Riders in the Eliminator. Incidentally, the Royals were beaten both times by the Knight Riders when they met during the league stage.

Kolkata will hold another advantage over the Royals in the Eliminator with the clash set to take place on their home turf at Eden Gardens on Wednesday.

Sunrisers Hyderabad will take on Chennai Super Kings in the first Qualifier on Tuesday. The winner of the clash will advance to the final while the loser will take on the winners of the Rajasthan-Kolkata match in a shootout for the second spot in the final.