IPL 2026 vs 2025 Playoff Contenders — Same-Point Comparison
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Mid-season standings are the IPL's first serious rehearsal. The auction debates are done, the "but it's only one loss" defence is gone, and the table starts telling you what each franchise actually is. The question worth asking at this point isn't only "who's winning right now?" — it's "who's ahead or behind where they were last year?"
That's the lens for this piece. IPL 2026 vs IPL 2025 at the same mid-season marker, franchise by franchise. Some patterns are structural. Some are the noise of one or two bad weeks. Telling them apart is the job.
The comparison method
We're matching IPL 2026 against IPL 2025 at a similar games-played point for each team (roughly 7-8 matches in) and scoring on three qualitative dials:
- Points pace — is the 2026 total tracking ahead of, even with, or behind the 2025 total at the same games played?
- Net Run Rate direction — is the NRR trending upward (a team finding its groove) or downward (a team leaking runs)?
- Playoff probability vibe — would a 2025 analyst watching the 2026 version of this team at this stage say "better shape" or "worse shape"?
Game-level context is drawn from iplt20.com standings and ESPNcricinfo series pages.
The teams running ahead of 2025
Rajasthan Royals. RR in 2025 were stuck in a mid-season rut after a strong start. The 2026 version — with Jadeja arrived, Buttler gone to GT, a new finishing-role build — has had a more settled mid-season. NRR trending flat-to-positive, points pace even or slightly ahead.
Punjab Kings. This is the biggest season-over-season jump. PBKS in 2025 were mid-table drifters with a stop-start captaincy. Iyer's arrival as captain, Chahal and Maxwell added to the roster, have pushed them past their 2025 self at the same point — even accounting for the mid-season win-percentage wobble we covered in IPL 2026 captains whose win percentage has collapsed mid-season.
Kolkata Knight Riders. KKR's 2025 title-holders momentum carried into a strong IPL 2025 defence run. In 2026, under a post-Iyer setup, they're still on pace — NRR healthy, points in range. Not quite "ahead" but close to even, which given the captaincy transition is a genuine positive.
The teams tracking roughly even
Mumbai Indians. MI's 2025 finish was stronger than their early-season start suggested. The 2026 version is doing the same thing in reverse — decent start, mid-season wobble, with a clear structural path back through Bumrah's bowling unit and the openers settling. Roughly even on points pace, NRR slightly down.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru. RCB in 2025 had one of their stronger mid-season runs in years under Kohli's batting form and the RCB pace unit. The 2026 version under Patidar's captaincy is tracking close to even. The delta is at the death — their 2025 death bowling was sharper. Tim David has added batting depth; the bowling answer is still outstanding.
Sunrisers Hyderabad. SRH ran the 2024 final and had a competitive 2025 season. The 2026 version is slightly below that pace — a franchise still leaning on the high-scoring identity but finding the pitches less friendly than 2024 hits suggested. Even-ish.
The teams running behind 2025
Chennai Super Kings. The hardest comparison to make, because CSK's 2025 was itself an unusually tough year for the franchise. The 2026 version has had a slow start, a captaincy debate brewing around Ruturaj, Dhoni's injury and April 14 return, and the Samson-Mhatre opening reshuffle. Points pace is close to 2025's slow start; vibe is more turbulent. The second half is the test.
Gujarat Titans. GT under the new leadership with Buttler at the top order are re-identifying themselves. 2025 GT were a middle-of-pack outfit with moments of brilliance. 2026 GT are slightly behind that pace at the same point. The settling tax on new combinations is real.
Lucknow Super Giants. LSG in 2025 were a playoff-chaser until the final stretch. The 2026 version under Pant is behind that pace. The death-bowling gap and the captaincy's batting-form question are structural — neither fixes itself in one match.
Delhi Capitals. DC's 2025 was one of their better mid-season runs in recent IPLs. The 2026 version is flatter — the pace attack is missing a single elite new-ball threat, and a home-court spin advantage hasn't fully materialised on flatter-than-expected surfaces. Behind 2025's pace.
What changed structurally from 2025 to 2026
Three shifts define the season-over-season differences:
Mini-auction migration. Chahal and Maxwell going to PBKS, Jadeja to RR, Buttler to GT, Samson to CSK, and Tim David to RCB reshaped squad identities. These aren't marginal moves — they're core batting and bowling plank shifts.
Captain churn. PBKS (Iyer), LSG (Pant full-time), and RCB (Patidar) are new captaincy setups. First-season captaincy is expensive — about 15-20 percent of games feel the learning tax.
Faf's withdrawal, Russell's and Pollard's retirements. Three veteran impact names off the IPL stage in one off-season. Their replacements — younger, different-profile players — take time to embed.
The playoff probability picture
If you were building a top-four from mid-season IPL 2026 form, the "safe" bucket is:
- RR — most balanced squad, in shape
- PBKS — if spin department lands, they win the division
- KKR — still a defending-champion-grade unit
- MI or RCB — one of these probably takes the fourth spot
The bubble teams pushing for the fourth slot: CSK, SRH, GT. The outside-looking-in bucket: LSG and DC, who need a genuine second-half surge.
The season's next eight matches will tell us if the "ahead of 2025" teams can sustain the pace and if the "behind 2025" teams can catch up.
What to watch for the rest of IPL 2026
Three swing factors for the back half:
- Dhoni's role. CSK's season depends on how the 17th-over-onwards hitter slots back in
- Bumrah's workload. MI's playoff lane depends on Bumrah being available and firing in the last stretch
- Tim David's match count. RCB need David in the crease more often than he has been so far
For the tiebreaker maths if two or more teams end up level on points, read IPL playoff tiebreaker rules explained 2026. For how the three-match playoff format works, see IPL Eliminator vs Qualifier 1 vs Qualifier 2 explained simply.
FAQ
Q: Which IPL 2026 team is most ahead of its 2025 pace? A: Punjab Kings. The Iyer-Chahal-Maxwell combination has them in a stronger mid-season position than any version of PBKS in recent years.
Q: Which IPL 2026 team is most behind its 2025 pace? A: Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants are the two running most obviously behind their 2025 trajectories.
Q: Is it too late for CSK to make the playoffs? A: No. IPL seasons routinely see teams hit a four-or-five-match winning streak in the back half. CSK still have the points runway — but the XI needs to settle, especially around Samson, Mhatre, Ruturaj, and Dhoni's returning role.
Q: What's the most important stat for playoff chances from here? A: Net Run Rate direction. Points matter, but in a compressed playoff race, NRR often decides who grabs the fourth spot.
Q: Who were the top four in IPL 2025? A: Refer to the IPL 2025 final standings on iplt20.com and ESPNcricinfo for the complete 2025 table. The year-over-year comparisons here are based on those standings.
Q: How did retirements and Faf's withdrawal affect the 2026 race? A: Russell's and Pollard's retirements removed two high-impact finishers from the league. Faf du Plessis withdrawing from IPL 2026 took another experienced opener out of the rotation. Their slots being filled by younger players is one reason several teams are tracking slightly behind their 2025 paces.
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Karthik Iyer
Expert in: Ipl 2026Cricket analyst and content writer at CricJosh, covering Ipl 2026 with 473 articles published.
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