Gujarat Titans saw their title hopes come to an end on Friday when they suffered a 20-run defeat at the hands of the Mumbai Indians at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur. After the match, captain Shubman Gill appeared devastated as his team did not play to their full potential in the Eliminator clash.
During the post-match presentation, Gill identified the cause of the loss, stating that the last three or four overs did not go in his team’s favour. He also pointed out that dropping three catches during the powerplay hurt his team.
The Titans did not have the services of Jos Buttler — their regular number three batter — and instead played Kusal Mendis in his place. Mendis scored 20 runs off 10 balls, but the franchise must also have missed the England batter.
Shubman Gill pinpoints blame after GT vs MI clash:
Speaking to the broadcasters after the match, Gill said, “Last three or four overs didn’t go our way, but still a very good game of cricket. Not easy when we drop three sitters, especially in the powerplay. Not easy for the bowlers to control. The message was simple: just play the game you want to play. The goal was the same for both [Sai Sudharsan and Washington]… Lot of positives for us. Last two or three games didn’t go our way, but credit to all the players – especially Sai; he was terrific. I think 210 was par on this pitch,”
Chasing a target of 229 runs, GT lost Gill in the first over for 1. However, thanks to Sai Sudarshan’s 80-run knock and Washington Sundar’s 48-run cameo, GT remained in contention. Following the dismissal of the two batsmen, the onus was on Sherfane Rutherford and Rahul Tewatia, with GT needing 36 runs from 12 balls.
However, Richard Gleeson then bowled three dot balls in a row, more or less sealing the victory for MI. Gleeson then left the ground due to a hamstring injury and was replaced by Ashwani Kumar to complete the over. Eventually, MI won the match by 20 runs.
