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Former India and Kolkata Knight Riders batter Rohan Gavaskar has criticised the Gujarat Titans and their captain, Shubman Gill, for their slow approach in the team’s loss to KKR on Saturday.
On May 16, GT lost to KKR at the Eden Gardens after winning five matches in a row. The Gujarat Titans had fallen short by 29 runs after conceding 247 with the ball.
KKR end GT’s win streak
Shubman Gill and the Gujarat Titans’ decision to bowl first didn’t really go to plan. Finn Allen continued his aggressive ways and smashed 10 sixes in a 35-ball 93.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi made an unbeaten 82 from 44 balls, while Cameron Green also propped up the score to almost 250 with his 52 not out from just 28 balls. GT also suffered from a dreaded case of butterfingers as Allen was dropped twice, while Raghuvanshi and Green were spilled once each.
GT’s template of relying on their famed top three of Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, and Jos Buttler didn’t quite work out this time. Gill and Sudharsan started steadily, but Sudharsan had to retire hurt.
Gill kept the tempo up, but Sunil Narine was again at his restrictive best. Gill got together with Buttler, but their partnership basically kept playing catch-up. Narine got rid of Gill for 85, and Buttler too got his own fifty.
Sudharsan returned after Buttler got out and completed his fifty, but couldn’t take his team to victory.
“Nobody had a good strike rate” – Rohan Gavaskar
Speaking to Cricbuzz after the match, Rohan Gavaskar said that the problem lied in the strike rates of the GT batters. Gavaskar said that even though three GT batters got fifties, none of them got them at an adequate strike rate considering the total they had to chase.
“I can clearly see the difference. If you really want to understand the difference in batting, then forget everything else and look at the strike rates. For KKR, Ajinkya Rahane was the only batter whose strike rate was around 100. Every other batter had a strike rate above 180. For the Gujarat Titans, only Sai Sudharsan had a strike rate above 180. The rest of the batters all had strike rates below 180,” he said.
“So when you are chasing 240, it shouldn’t happen that not even one batter has a strike rate above 200. You want one or two batters to play impactful cameos. Even if someone scores just 25 runs, that innings should come at a strike rate of 200, 225, or even 250. Here, Sai Sudharsan’s strike rate was around 190, but no other batter had a strike rate above 180,” he added.
Shubman Gill’s performance in IPL 2026
GT’s captain, Shubman Gill, is currently second on the Orange Cap list with a difference of just 2 runs between himself and his opening partner, Sai Sudharsan, who is first.
So far, Gill has made 552 runs in 12 matches at an average of 46 and a strike rate of 160. He has also made five fifties.
Also Read: Shubman Gill’s savage Instagram post goes viral after GT get humbled by KKR in IPL 2026
