New Delhi, May 17 (IANS) Former Indian cricketer Piyush Chawla believes that 2022 champions Gujarat Titans (GT) can still qualify for the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs by remaining in the top two, as they have their fate in their hands despite suffering a 29-run loss against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Saturday.

After being asked to bat, KKR set a huge total of 247/2 in 20 overs thanks to the brilliant knock by Finn Allen, who scored 93 runs in 35 balls, and Angkrish Raghuvanshi also scored 82 runs off just 44 balls.

In reply, despite the 85-run innings from captain Shubman Gill, the visitors failed to cross the line and scored just 218 runs. With this loss, GT still sits in the second spot in the points table with 16 points in 13 matches.

Chawla feels that Gujarat will be eager to finish in the top two by winning their next match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) rather than depending on other teams for favourable results or net run rate.

“Gujarat Titans will be worried because they would want to finish in the top two. They still have the ball in their court. They have a game against CSK left. If they win that one, they will definitely finish in the top two. But if not, then net run rate and all those things will come into the picture,” Chawla told Jio Hotstar.

“You want to be safe because you don’t want to be dependent on others, especially at this stage of the tournament. The things that are in your control, you just want to make sure you do them really well,” he added.

According to Chawla, chasing a mammoth total like 248 was always going to be challenging for GT as they don’t have that much firepower at the top.

“Shubman Gill is a very reliable batter who knows his game well. He has scored plenty of crucial runs for his side. But a target of 248 is a different ball game. For a team like GT, who are used to posting or chasing totals around 200 to 210, this was always going to be a big ask,” he said.

“They are consistent in that range. But when the target crosses 240, it becomes very challenging for their batting style. The way Gill and Sai Sudharsan bat, they rely on building partnerships. They don’t have the same explosive firepower in the top order,” he added.

–IANS

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