The way things are placed in the IPL currently, there is a potential for things to get interesting. Alluding to the points table as it currently stands, the sides will be looking to ensure that they can not only qualify for the playoffs but also do that by ending up in the top two positions in the points table. Here are a few scenarios that make things very exciting in the last week of the tournament. Before that, the points table for the important teams is as follows: Bangalore have 17 points from 12 games and are already through to the next round. Chennai have 16 from 12. Mumbai have 16 from 12. Kolkata have 14 from 12. Punjab have 12 from 12. Kochi had 12 from 13. The other teams have all crashed out of the tournament.

Games remaining: Bangalore play Punjab, Chennai. Chennai play Kochi, Bangalore. Mumbai play Rajasthan, Kolkata. Kolkata play Pune, Mumbai. Punjab play Bangalore, Deccan. Kochi play Chennai.

Scenario I: Punjab win two games, beating the in-form Bangalore and Deccan. Kolkata win one game against Mumbai but lose to Pune (which will mean that Ganguly has beaten his former Knight Riders). Mumbai go down to Rajasthan and Chennai lose to Bangalore and Kochi. This will leave Mumbai, Punjab, Chennai and Kolkata with 16 points from 14 games and while Bangalore would have finished atop, three of these four would qualify for the playoffs. The tie-breaker would be the net run-rate, which by the current standings points to Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. It could change though.

Scenario II: Punjab win two games, Kolkata lose both their games. Then, irrespective of what happens in the rest of the games, Punjab will join Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore in the playoffs, knocking Kolkata out of the tournament.

Scenario III: Punjab wins one game and Kolkata loses both. In this case, both, Punjab and Kolkata will end their engagement with 14 points and the other three, Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore would have qualified and if Kochi can win their last game, there would be a three-way tie between Punjab, Kochi and Kolkata with 14 points. Given that Kochi's net run rate is way lower than the other two, it is difficult to see them go through to the next round.

To qualify in the top spots, if Bangalore win both their games, they will end at the top of the points table, with Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata fighting for the second spot. If Bangalore win one game, and Chennai and Mumbai can win both their games, it will be Chennai and Mumbai who will go through at the top of the table. If Bangalore lose their both games and Chennai and Mumbai win one each, and Kolkata win both, then it will be a three-way tie for the top spot – two of Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata will go through at the top. If Bangalore lose both and either Mumbai and Chennai win both or Mumbai and Chennai win one and Kolkata win not more than one, then again, Mumbai and Chennai will occupy the top two spots.