Royals' defeat blows away Kings XI chances

Having struck some form in the past couple of matches, Kings XI Punjab now face the daunting task of taking on table-toppers and strong title contenders Mumbai Indians here tomorrow in a bid to keep their playoff hopes alive in the ongoing Pepsi IPL.

Mumbai are already through to the playoffs along with Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals. The fourth spot is still up for grabs and the teams in contention for that are Punjab, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Among the three, Punjab have the weakest chance of making it because they have 14 points from 15 matches against the 16 that RCB and Hyderabad have respectively.

For Punjab to qualify, they would have to hope for favourable results elsewhere but the most important task at first would be to win tomorrow's match against an on-a-roll Mumbai.

And that seems easier said then done given that Rohit Sharma's men are coming into the game with eight back-to-back home wins this season.

Punjab, on the other hand, have gained some confidence after beating the mighty Royal Challengers Bangalore in their previous match after getting the better of a miserably out of form Delhi Daredevils.

Punjab, an erratic side led by Australian wicket-keeping legend Adam Gilchrist, has been enduring a roller-coaster campaign and it would be quite a surprise to see it make the playoff stage.