Shubman Gill hopes that GT can take the learnings from the loss for the remaining games. © BCCI/IPL
Despite sitting at the top of the table at the end of their penultimate league game, the 33-run loss against Lucknow Super Giants has left Gujarat Titans in a tricky position in their bid to qualify for Qualifier 1 in a tightly-contested three-way battle.

Gujarat Titans are currently holding 18 points from 13 games. Placed right behind them are Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings, both with 17 points each and an additional game to play. Mumbai Indians might be trailing slightly, with 16 points from 13 games, but aren't mathematically out of contention for a top-two finish either.

Despite the loss on Thursday evening, Gujarat Titans skipper, Shubman Gill, is glad that the middle order got some time in the middle. In a tournament where the bulk of the scoring for Gujarat Titans have been done by their top three - Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler - combining to score 1807, the middle order hasn't had much of a role to play. However, against LSG, chasing 236 for victory, GT's top-three got starts but were all dismissed by the 10th over of the run-chase.

Sherfane Rutherford and Shahrukh Khan made useful contributions to keep their side in the hunt till the 17th over before the chase fizzled out. Needing 50 runs off the last 25 balls, GT were pegged back with quick wickets before eventually being limited to 202 for 9.

"We gave 15-20 runs extra," Gill admitted in the post-match presentation. "We wanted to stop them around 210. [There's a] Huge difference between 210 and 230. We bowled well in the powerplay, didn't get any wickets, but after the powerplay in the 14 overs they scored around 180 runs, which was a lot.

"We were right in the game till the 17th over, it was never easy chasing 240. Lots of positives for us - Rutherford and Shahrukh's batting was a big plus. Getting back some momentum would be key, would want to get back to winning ways heading into the playoffs."

While the learnings have come at a critical time for Titans, the victory came a tad too late for Lucknow Super Giants, who ended their losing streak, which had stretched to four games only after the possibility of their qualification chances had vanished.

Rishabh Pant, the LSG skipper, eventhough delighted in victory, rued the missed opportunity and admitted, "We have shown as a team that we can play good cricket. There was a time in the tournament when we had the chance to qualify. But that's part and parcel of the game. We need to learn and get better. There were injury concerns coming into the tournament. The way Mitch, Markram, and Pooran batted, and the whole batting unit in fact... While fielding, we made lapses. We have to learn from it and move forward."

While Titans stay back in Ahmedabad to face the Chennai Super Kings, LSG will head home to face Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Lucknow, hoping to spoil the party of another team holding ambitions of a top-two finish.