IPL 2023: Gujarat Titans looks to seal play off berth after defeat

Gujarat Titans prides itself on consistency and would be expected to produce a solid show against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL in Ahmedabad on Monday after a rare "flat" performance.

Another win should be enough for the defending champion to seal a playoff berth while Sunrisers, who has only four wins from 11 games, is all but out of the reckoning.

Barring Rashid Khan, who starred with both ball and bat against Mumbai Indians, the bowlers had a forgettable outing and no one had answers to the special hitting ability of Suryakumar Yadav.

Gujarat remains the table leader and tends to quickly learn from their mistakes.

"As a group we weren't there. In bowling also we were very flat. Didn't have clear plans or didn't execute," skipper Hardik Pandya had said after the team's fourth loss in 12 games.

With the bat, the prolific top-order could not get going and despite a blinder from Rashid Khan at number 8, the Titans fell short. The star spinner was back at his best with the ball to end up with his best figures of the season.

The skillful Mohammed Shami had a rare off day and he would be expected to conjure magic with the new ball. Mohit Sharma, who was used in the middle and death overs earlier in the season, bowled with the new ball against Mumbai but the move did not pay off.

Sunrisers, on the other hand, will be at the mercy of other teams after losing to Lucknow Super Giants from a winning position.

It could not defend 80 runs off the last six overs with Nicholas Pooran playing a game changing innings.

The failure of the top-order and the star bowlers not performing as per expectations has let Sunrisers down this season.

Anmolpreet Singh, who has replaced Mayank Agarwal at the top, has yet to make an impact.

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