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Gujarat remain the table leaders and tend 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 their 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 bowl 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 up 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. They could not defend 80 runs off the last six overs with Nicholas Pooran playing a game-changing innings.
Rahul Tripathi too has not set the stage on fire, having totalled 199 runs in 11 games at an underwhelming strike rate of 129.14. The skipper, Aiden Markram, has not led from the front with 207 runs from 10 games at a strike rate of 129.37.
The positive has been the performance of Abdul Samad, who is finally living up to his potential after years of promise.