Who will join Mumbai in the last four?

With two points separating five teams on the league standings, three semi-final spots are still up for grabs as the third edition of the Indian Premier League moves to its business end.

Sachin Tendulkar has led the Mumbai Indians to the semi-finals for the first time in the tournament but six other teams are still very closely matched on the points table and it is difficult to gauge which ones would fill the remaining three spots with the exception of Kings XI Punjab, who have already lost eight matches. The Royal Challengers Bangalore (12 points), the Delhi Daredevils (12 points) and the Rajasthan Royals (12 points) looked to be leading the pack consistently at one stage but they have suffered a dip in form recently, allowing the others to catch up and close the gap on the points table.

The Chennai Super Kings (10 points) and the Kolkata Knight Riders (10 points) are very capable outfits as they have shown on some occasions but have failed to string together a series of wins. Defending champions, Deccan Chargers (12 points) have made a late surge with wins against the Royal Challengers and the Super Kings after losing five matches on the trot, which gives them an outside chance of sealing a semi-final berth. It’s down to the last few rounds of league matches and with three semi-final spots still to be filled, we should see some cracking encounters ahead.