Delhi Capitals kept their playoff hopes alive with a five-wicket win over the Rajasthan Royals on Sunday. Meanwhile, Royal Challengers Bengaluru became the first team to reach the Indian Premier League playoffs, beating the Punjab Kings by 23 runs.
Seventh-placed Delhi now sit one point below fourth-placed Punjab, who have lost six straight after winning six of their first seven. Rajasthan and Chennai Super Kings, level on points with Delhi, each have two games remaining.
Batting first, Rajasthan got a fast start from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who scored 46 off 21 balls. But Mitchell Starc's 4-40 dismantled the middle order, including Riyan Parag's 51. Rajasthan managed just 27 runs in their final five overs to post 193-8.
Delhi's chase began with a 105-run opening stand between Abhishek Porel (51) and KL Rahul (56). Captain Axar Patel's quick 34 and Ashutosh Sharma's 18 off five balls sealed the win with four balls to spare.
Earlier, defending champions Bengaluru posted 222-4, powered by Venkatesh Iyer's unbeaten 73 and Virat Kohli's 58. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2-38) and Rasikh Salam (3-36) reduced Punjab to 19-3. Josh Hazlewood trapped Marcus Stoinis leg before, and despite Shashank Singh's 56, Punjab finished at 199-8.