The Gujarat Titans had the opportunity to seal the top spot and finish the league stage at the summit of the points table but fell face first, suffering a thumping 83-run defeat to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Sunday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. As a result, the race for the top two finish is wide open yet again and both spots are up for grabs.
The biggest defeat for the Titans in IPL history by runs means that the winner of the Punjab Kings vs Mumbai Indians contest will play the Qualifier 1. Should the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) beat the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), they will play the Qualifier 1 else the Titans will join either Punjab Kings or Mumbai Indians. On the other hand, a no result between PBKS and MI will mean that the Titans will qualify for Q1 along with RCB if they beat LSG. In case RCB loses, PBKS will play Q1.
The Titans had been set a behemoth target of 231 but got bowled out for 147 in an innings that lasted only 18.3 overs. Fifties from Devon Conway and Dewald Brevis paved the way for the Super Kings' score of 230.
"We weren't able to stay calm under pressure" - Shubman Gill
At the post-game presentation, Titans captain Shubman Gill said the game veered away from them in the powerplay itself when Ayush Mhatre went hammer and tongs. Gill also reflected that they have failed to control runs in the middle overs in the last two games.
"I think the game pretty much went away from us in the powerplay, we never really came back. Chasing 230 is always a tricky target. Teams already eliminated have nothing to lose and they come out all guns blazing. We weren't able to stay calm under pressure and I think we gave in to pressure. It's very important to control runs in the middle overs. If you are not going to do that it's going to be challenging. That's where we were lacking in the last two games."
