Titans falter twice on the trot before playoffs begin

Brevis, Mhatre and Urvil Patel help Chennai Super Kings score 230 before Gujarat fold for 147

- Somshuvra Laha

KOLKATA: A day after being appointed India's youngest Test captain since Sachin Tendulkar, Shubman Gill has been cornered into a position from where making the IPL final could become tricky for Gujarat Titans. Chennai Super Kings probably saved their best for the last but so spectacularly have Titans lost two matches in a row at home that they now run the risk of finishing fourth after leading the IPL points table for the bulk of the league phase. And that could effectively rob them of the chance to have two cracks at the final.

In three consecutive matches now Gujarat Titans have conceded 199, 235 and 230. While they didn't lose any wicket in the chase against Delhi Capitals, the 33-run defeat against Lucknow Super Giants and the 83-run loss to CSK in Ahmedabad on Sunday has compromised their net run rate that now stands at 0.254, the worst among the top-four teams.

The playoffs have been made, but winning the tournament from here could exact much more from Gill than it has in the tournament so far. And it has to start with their bowling, especially after how Ayush Mhatre (34 off 17 balls), Urvil Patel (37 off 19) and Dewald Brevis (57 off 23) toyed with it.