Shubman Gill had a rough day with the bat, and Jos Buttler didn’t fare any better. Then Sai Sudharsan got out in the most frustrating way. Honestly, that just summed up how things went for Gujarat Titans during their chase against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. RCB, the reigning champions, bulldozed their way into their second straight IPL final after smashing Gujarat by 92 runs in Qualifier 1 on Tuesday. Rajat Patidar was unstoppable, hammering an unbeaten 93 from just 33 balls, while RCB’s quicks tore through Gujarat’s top order before the powerplay even wrapped up.
After Gujarat failed to chase the massive 255-run target, Gill didn’t hold back. He called out the team’s poor fielding, pointing out two dropped catches off Patidar in the 14th over—first by Kulwant Khejroliya, then Kagiso Rabada. Even Prasidh Krishna got in on the act, missing his chance.
Gill said, “We were going alright up until the 12th or 13th over. Our fielding just wasn’t good enough—missed a couple of catches, ground fielding was sloppy, too. Sure, there’s a lot to take away from this game. Honestly, it’s just one of those matches we’d rather forget. Time to reset and look ahead to Mohali.”
He wasn’t making excuses about the fielding, though. “Yeah, we talk about it in team meetings and work on it in practice. The intensity was there, but when the pressure’s on, we just didn’t deliver.”
Asked if chasing such a big score was even realistic, Gill kept it simple. “If you get a solid start in the powerplay, you never know. On a ground like this, the ball really flies and the outfield’s lightning quick. With the way the wicket played, a good start could have made even this target chaseable.”
Now, Gujarat’s next match will be against the winner between Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad. It’s a quick turnaround, but they’ll have to shake off this loss fast.
