Gujarat Titans batting coach Matthew Hayden blamed the bowlers for their poor death overs bowling, which leaked so many runs that, according to him, made the target unbeatable on that track. He felt that it went almost a quarter of a hundred runs more than what could have been the par score.
The Narendra Modi Stadium, which is the home ground for the Gujarat Titans, is often considered a fine batting track as even mammoth totals have been chased here. However, at times, the pitch has been an anomaly, like in the last game, where batting seemed a tough job for batters of both teams.
However, for that one man in the MI colours, hitting sixes seemed a piece of cake. Yes, it’s Tilak Varma, the left-hander who was searching for form in this edition of the IPL, got it right at the perfect time, and played a masterclass of an innings to take the Mumbai Indians home.
“It was a poorly executed bowling effort,” claimed Hayden while slamming the Gujarat Titans’ pacers
Ending their winning streak for the past three games, the Gujarat Titans, who were heading towards the top tier, have suffered a massive blow in the form of a mammoth 99-run defeat against the Mumbai Indians. They are now level in points with the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Delhi Capitals.
One of the most eye-catching faults in this match from the Titans’ end was their flop in the death overs bowling. Prasidh Krishna and Ashok Sharma were taken for runs, while Mohammed Siraj bowled a quite over in the 19th.
“I feel like ‘one-dimensional’ is very unfair on a world-class bowling attack, but I will take on board it was a poorly executed bowling effort this evening,” Hayden admitted in the post-match press conference.
Ashok Sharma gave away 26 runs in the 18th over of the game, while Prasidh Krishna leaked 22 in the final over. Having played 6 matches, Krishna is the highest wicket-taker for Gujarat, but his economy has been disappointing.
“When you look back at those last four overs, that was just a horror story. You know, 73 off the last four is unacceptable for world-class players.
“It has been a number of times in this tournament where key players like Prasidh have gone for big runs in their overs. It was purely an executional thing,” he added.
Matthew Hayden praised Kagiso Rabada for sublime pace and control
After having slammed the two speedsters from India, Matthew Hayden lauded the South African pacer Kagiso Rabada for his brilliance with the new ball. Rabada dominated the first half of the game and dismissed the top three in the MI batting order.
He dismissed Centurion from the last game, Quinton de Kock, the MI debutant opener, and the veteran batter Suryakumar Yadav. Rabada was back with his gun pace and his sublime accuracy around line and length, which made him lethal this game.
“KG Rabada had an outstanding day. In fact, he is having a very good tournament. His pace today … it was a nightmare for batting units. He was consistently above 140, hitting 150 in very good areas. There’s a world class player exactly where we needed him to be,” Hayden said.
Ashish Nehra to talk with the young GT bowlers
After the conference, Matthew Hayden revealed that Gujarat Titans head coach Ashish Nehra will surely be giving it to the ears of the young fast bowlers. Hayden claimed that Ashok Sharma is young and can improve, but Krishna has been playing for a long time.
“Ashok is a young player requiring at this level some touch. I’m sure that Ashish Nehra will be in his ears and all the bowlers, considering that performance which was both very average. I think on that wicket, 175 was a par score,” he further added.
The massive loss ahead of their next game, which is scheduled to be played against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, might have demotivated the Titans to a huge extent.
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