IPL Results 2016: Scores, Points Table, Fixture Schedule and Playoff Outlook

Royal Challengers Bangalore survived a thriller against Kings XI Punjab during Monday's Indian Premier League Twenty20 action, winning by a single run to keep their slim play-off hopes alive.  

AB de Villiers powered Bangalore's innings with a half-century, as the visitors patiently worked to set a target of 176, but Murali Vijay's 89 from 57 kept the chase alive, and the hosts were in the match until the final delivery.

The win moves Bangalore into sixth place in the standings, two points behind the fourth and final play-off spot. Here’s a look at the latest IPL standings:

Pos	Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Net RR	For	Against	Pts
1	GL	11	7	4	-0.138	1728/213.1	1741/211.1	14
2	SRH	9	6	3	+0.609	1312/160.1	1284/169.2	12
3	KKR	10	6	4	+0.206	1579/188.2	1596/195.1	12
4	DD	9	5	4	+0.309	1408/170.0	1382/173.2	10
5	MI	10	5	5	-0.447	1539/193.4	1613/192.1	10
6	RCB	9	4	5	+0.032	1687/179.3	1647/175.5	8
7	RPS	10	3	7	+0.118	1578/184.5	1559/185.1	6
8	KXIP	10	3	7	-0.567	1536/198.4	1545/186.1	6

And here are the upcoming IPL fixtures:

Date	Time	Fixture
Tuesday, May 10	3:30 p.m. BST/8 p.m. IST	Rising Pune Supergiants v Sunrisers Hyderabad
Wednesday, May 11	3:30 p.m. BST/8 p.m. IST	Royal Challengers Bangalore v Mumbai Indians
Thursday, May 12	3:30 p.m. BST/8 p.m. IST	Sunrisers Hyderabad v Delhi Daredevils
Friday, May 13	3:30 p.m. BST/8 p.m. IST	Mumbai Indians v Kings XI Punjab
Saturday, May 14	11:30 a.m. BST/4 p.m. IST	Royal Challengers Bangalore v Gujarat Lions
Saturday, May 14	3:30 p.m. BST/8 p.m. IST	Kolkata Knight Riders v Rising Pune Supergiants

For the full schedule, visit the IPL's official website.

Royal Challengers vs. Kings XI

Bangalore, 175/6 (De Villiers 64, Watson 2-22) beat Punjab, 174/4 (Vijay 89, Cariappa 2-16) by one run.

Kings XI and Royal Challengers entered Monday’s contest as the two bottom-ranked teams in the standings, and while play-off qualification was still mathematically possible for both, they desperately needed a win.

The hosts won the toss and elected to field, knowing full well Bangalore’s struggles with the ball have led to plenty of successful chases. Lokesh Rahul (42 from 25) and Virat Kohli (20 from 21) started their knock well, scoring 44 runs through the first four overs.

MANJUNATH KIRAN/Getty Images

It was exactly the start Bangalore needed, but their innings took a turn for the worse in the eighth over. K.C. Cariappa took the wickets of both Rahul and Kohli, giving up just three runs in the over during the process.

Shane Watson (one from three) was bowled by Axar Patel in the next over, and cricket writer Ayaz Memon thought the visitors were in trouble:

Bangalore had scored 67 when Watson was bowled in the ninth, but de Villiers (64 from 35) and Sachin Baby (33 from 29) pushed the run rate up during the middle overs, and the visitors finished their inning with a rate of 8.75.

De Villiers in particular impressed with a patient knock, in which he found the boundary seven times, while Baby took the most of his chances, hitting several singles and doubles to increase the total slowly.

Memon thought de Villiers in particular played smart:

He would eventually be caught by Cariappa in the 18th over, just missing the boundary for six, and Travis Head added a quick 11 from seven to push the total to a respectable 175.

Cariappa led the way for Punjab's bowlers with figures of 2-16 in his three overs, while Sandeep Sharma also took two wickets but gave up 49 runs.

MANJUNATH KIRAN/Getty Images

Vijay (89 from 54) and Hashim Amla (21 from 20) started the chase for Kings XI, scoring 25 in the first three overs, but Stuart Binny caught the latter in the sixth, and the required run rate climbed in the following overs.

While Vijay kept his fine knock going, Punjab couldn't find a consistent partner. Wriddhiman Saha (16 from 13) didn't last long, and David Miller was stumped for a duck.

Midway through the chase, the required run rate was 9.30, and Kings XI's attack showed no signs of speeding up. Despite Vijay's best efforts, the required run rate hit double digits after 12 overs, and when Yuzvendra Chahal caught the opener, the chase was as good as over.

DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/Getty Images

Farhaan Behardien (nine from seven) and Marcus Stoinis (34 from 22) needed 17 from the last over, and the latter gave the hosts hope with back-to-back boundaries. Kings XI needed four from the last delivery, and Chris Jordan kept his cool, not giving the batsman anything he could lift for a boundary.

Jordan did well in the final over, but it was Watson who stood out with the ball, finishing with figures of 2-22. 

Per ESPN Cricinfo, Vijay didn't want to dwell on the close loss too much and instead looked at the positives he took away from the match:

"

We were in the game till the last over. It was a good game of cricket. Lots of positives to take forward. Like the batting, we took the game till the last overs, and the bowlers did well to keep them to 170 after AB de Villiers' innings.

I didn't want to change the fields too much, because anyway he was going to play with the fields, so I told them to stick to their plans. I told Stoinis to stay till the end, there was no bounce on the wicket, so just play cricketing shots and stay till the end, anything can happen.

"

Bangalore's bowlers put together one of their finer performances on Monday, keeping the team's slim play-off hopes alive. Royal Challengers need to keep winning and hope the likes of Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians falter, although both those teams have been playing more balanced cricket so far this season.

The 2016 IPL season has been one to forget for Kings XI, and the team's over-reliance on Miller and Glenn Maxwell is an issue to address before the start of next season.