We are nearing the completion of league stage of third edition of Indian Premier League and still all the 7 teams (barring Mumbai Indians who are assured of top spot in league) are in the fray for semi final spots.  While Kings Eleven Punjab are in contention for the fourth spot only, the rest of the teams i.e. Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Rajasthan, Kolkata and Hyderabad are in contention for spots 2nd to 4th.

What makes this edition of IPL the best is the fact that even after having played a minimum of 12 matches and a maximum of 13 matches in the 14 match league series, the semi final spots have not been decided.  The fact that Punjab are still in contention after having lost almost all matches in the first half of the tournament is an indication of inconsistent performance from favourites and underdogs performing well above expectations. For the record Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai and Rajasthan are yet to cement a semi final spot even after completing of 13 matches, while Hyderabad, Punjab and Kolkata have completed 12 matches.

If Mumbai Indians win the rest of their matches against Bangalore and Delhi and if Kings Eleven manage to topple Hyderabad and Chennai that it all boils down to the net run rate.  The teams in the fray for semi finals are confused on the strategy to be adopted in the rest of the matches as whether they should play safe and go for a simple win or go for quick runs and win by a bigger margin so as to ensure the net run rate is on the higher side.  The second option has a risk because there is a chance of losing wickets and the match.