The Mumbai Indians beat the Rajasthan Royals by 14 runs in an entertaining contest at the Wankhede Stadium that guarantees them a place in the qualifier, relegating the losing side in all likelihood to the eliminator barring a dramatic final group game for either them or the Chennai Super Kings. The match itself had some major momentum swings, with Rajasthan delighted with their efforts with the ball, but having a poor start before launching a terrific come back only to fall short in the end.

Two well balanced sides with an equal number of points collided against each other at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday evening with one being the formidable Mumbai Indians and the other the sensational Rajasthan Royals. Despite both teams having already confirmed a spot among the top four, it was important for each of them to win to ensure that they went into the Qualifier instead of the Eliminator round in the playoffs.

Both the Rajasthan Royals(20 points) and the Sunrisers Hyderabad(16 points) have plenty in common- shorn of box-office stars, the two sides, making tactful utilization of available resources, stand testimony to adage 'The sum is greater than the parts. Blindsided by Pollard blitz in Mumbai, the Sunrisers return to home comforts to collide with Rajasthan in a knock-out clash for the only vacant Play-offs berth on Friday night. The three way tussle between SRH, RCB and KXIP intensifies with every passing result, keeping fans on the tenterhooks. Meanwhile, the Royals, who have already punched their tickets to the Play-offs will look for nothing less than a top 2 position.

The Sunrisers though will take heart, both from their hitherto near perfect home-record and Royals' travel nightmares.

The Kings XI head into a crucial encounter on Thursday against the Delhi Daredevils at the HPCA Stadium in Dharmsala with a slim but definite chance of still making it to the last four in the competition. KKR's loss to the Pune Warriors on Wednesday afternoon means that the battle for the fourth position of the Play-offs is now a three way contest between the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Kings XI Punjab.

To keep their chances alive, Kings XI would hope not just for a win, but preferably a big one to increase their net run rate (+0.046) which is currently above SRH's (-0.117) but below RCB's (+0.387).

The Kolkata Knight Riders' title defence of the Indian Premier League ended in disappointing fashion in Ranchi on Wednesday night as they were beaten by the lowly Pune Warriors by 7 runs in an exciting contest. Batting first the Pune Warriors posted a competitive 170-4 in their 20 overs on the back of a good 66 from Manish Pandey. The Kolkata Knight Riders were on course for victory needing 23 from the last 14 balls when Yusuf Pathan, who was batting on 72, was given out for obstructing the field and KKR never really recovered, falling short by a handful of runs in the end.

After a low-scoring battle last Sunday, the cricket lovers in Ranchi hoped to have a far more exciting contest on Wednesday afternoon, one which would ideally keep hosts Kolkata Knight Riders in the race for the play-offs. Meanwhile it had been exactly one month since Pune Warriors India had won a game, and they were desperate to change that statistic.

The Scotland squad has been announced for the two upcoming One Day Internationals against Pakistan on Friday 17th and Sunday 19th of May.

Kyle Coetzer leads his side out for the first time after being unveiled as Gordon Drummond’s successor as captain, 10 years since he made his Scotland debut, fittingly against Pakistan, at Hamilton Crescent in 2003.

It was a tale of 4 fifties, with Adam Gilchrist and Azhar Mahmood outscoring Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli 146 to 134, and probably more crucially taking 95 balls viz-a-viz the 96 from their opposition to steer the Kings XI Punjab to an unexpected win at Bangalore, and earn them a lifeline in IPL season 6. The Royal Challengers Bangalore didn't score enough runs in the first half of their innings once again, and their bowling continued to be below par, and they paid heavily for it, losing a key game as far as their play-off hopes are concerned.

RCB played host to the Kings XI Punjab at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru on Tuesday afternoon, with both sides in desperate need of a win. RCB were on the cusp of advancing to the play-offs of IPL 2013, while their opponents were mathematically alive but realistically living on borrowed time.