Gujarat Titans failed to guarantee themselves a top two spot in the Indian Premier League table as they were thrashed by 83 runs by bottom-placed Chennai Super Kings. (Highlights | Scorecard)
The leaders could have sealed their place in Qualifier 1 - giving them two chances to qualify for the final - with a win, but fell short with a lacklustre display.
Having lost the toss and been asked to bowl first, the Titans never had control and eventually scored 230-5.
That chase proved beyond them, with only Sai Sudharsan (41) scoring more than 20 as they were bowled out for 147, comfortably their lowest total of the campaign.
Playing for pride, Chennai got off to a flyer in the first innings and did not look back.
Half-centuries for Devon Conway (52) at the top and Dewald Brevis (57) at the end underpinned a fine team effort, with all six batters to face a ball reaching double-figures and hitting a six.
Prasidh Krishna was the only Titan to keep control, taking 2-22 from his four overs, but the surrounding chaos saw a formidable total posted.
Sudharsan gave it his best shot, but Gujarat never looked like chasing the runs after falling to 30-3 off 27 deliveries.
They were eventually bowled out with nine balls to spare, with Anshul Kamboj and Noor Ahmed taking three wickets apiece.
The result means Gujarat are relying on one of the Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru not to win their final match, else they will drop into the eliminators, needing to win two matches to reach the final.
Data Debrief: Titans tumble at crucial moment
Gujarat’s top-order batting has been a huge strength throughout this campaign, with the leaders scoring 190+ in nine of their previous 13 matches and only falling short on three occasions because they were chasing a target below that threshold.
The Titans had lost none or one wicket in the powerplay of every single match in 2025, so this performance was somewhat surprising.
Shubman Gill, Jos Buttler and Sherfane Rutherford were dismissed inside the first five overs of their run chase on Sunday, leaving the rest of their line-up far too much work to do.
