And then there were four. It wasn’t until the 69th, and penultimate, match of the 10-team league phase that the final qualifier for the IPL 2026 playoffs was identified. Sunrisers Hyderabad’s 55-run defeat of defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Friday had cemented the top three; the holders and table-toppers would take on Gujarat Titans, the 2022 champions, in Qualifier 1. Hyderabad, who like the top two also ended up with 18 points, had earned their place in the Eliminator, waiting to see who their opponents were.When Shreyas Iyer blasted his maiden century against Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday to arrest an alarming slide of six straight losses and keep Punjab Kings in the hunt, the wait for the fourth qualifier spilled over to the final day of league action, in keeping with the IPL’s reputation and history. In the end, after a start-stop-start season, Rajasthan Royals, champions in the inaugural edition in 2008, earned that right following a 30-run conquest of Mumbai Indians under a blazing afternoon sun at the Wankhede Stadium.As is inevitably the case, those that missed out on qualification narrowly – Punjab finished on 15 points, Delhi Capitals on 14 while 16 was the magic figure on which Rajasthan rode into the last four – will rue missed opportunities, a game that slid by here, a point that was dropped there. Kings will potentially point to the only no-result of the tournament, against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens, as a decisive moment.Struggling at the time to get on the points table, Ajinkya Rahane’s men, strangely opting to bat despite the threat of rain, were gasping at 25 for two when the skies opened up, gifting them a much-needed first point. Who’s to say how the match would have panned out had PBKS, riding the crest of an early wave, had the opportunity to play out a full game?Kings will look back and understandably wonder how it came to this pass. For the first half, and more, of the league phase, they looked unstoppable and unbeatable. The no-result in Kolkata was the only point they dropped in their first seven outings; with 13 points and seven games remaining, it wasn’t a question of whether they would make the playoffs, but what their final points tally would be and who they might run into in Qualifier 1.