Gujarat look to fix batting woes, seal IPL play-off berth against MI

Mumbai: Table-toppers Gujarat Titans would look to plug the holes in their top-order and seal a place in the play-offs by returning to winning ways against an already out-of-contention Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League match here on Friday.

GT got a timely wake-up call in an eight-wicket loss to Punjab Kings in their last match, which snapped their five-game winning streak. An inconsistent batting department, especially top-order has been GT's thorn in the flesh throughout the tournament so far and it's time the IPL newcomers fix the issue going into the business end of the league.

Despite the loss, GT are sitting pretty at the top of the 10-team standings with 16 points from 10 games and a win on Friday would make them the first team to cement their spot in the play-offs. Young Shubman Gill has failed to live up to expectations at the top, while veteran Wriddhiman Saha, who was a great replacement for struggling Matthew Wade, got a start before fizzling out.

B Sai Sudharsan, who has been the team's weak link so far, was the only saving grace for GT in their last match, where everyone failed, scoring a 50-ball 65. The likes of skipper Hardik Pandya, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan, who had produced stellar performances and played a key role in GT's success so far, have floundered against Punjab.

But the quartet would be very well aware about their importance in the side and look to rise to the occasion to make a comeback, in what has been a remarkable opening season. Hardik, who has been GT's batting mainstay with 309 runs -- the highest among all in the team, has had two rare back-to-back failures and would be desperate to get his mojo back.