Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill shared on Wednesday night (April 10) that his side they were looking to target 45 runs in the final three overs of the run chase. In a thrilling game against Rajasthan Royals, the Titans reached the finish line off the final ball of the game. Since the beginning, they have made headlines with their performances. Last night, they needed 73 off 30 balls at one stage and in the final over, they lost their skipper Gill which turned out to be a crucial blow. But Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan sealed the deal at the end.
“No not really,” Shubman Gill said at the post-match presentation ceremony when asked if he lost hopes after his dismissal. “We were targeting 45 in three overs and that is very much gettable. Fifteen runs per over you just need two hits and that was the mindset at that time. Mathematically, both batsmen need to score nine-ball 22 runs and if you think like that, okay, it’s two-three hits in nine balls and if one of the batsmen goes berserk, you’ll see the match getting over in two or three balls prior.”
However, last year’s finalists also lost their previous two games before this one and Shubman Gill was impressed with the fact that his side at least managed to win despite being behind.
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“I would have loved to finish the game but very happy with the way Rashid (Khan) bhai and Rahul (Tewatia) bhai finished the game for us,” he noted. “In the past couple of matches as well, I thought we dominated more than 50% of the game and the bad phase was we played really bad cricket and that’s why we lost both the games. This game, we were there and thereabouts, we were a little bit behind the game and then winning the game on the last ball is always a great feeling.”
On the other hand, Kumar Sangakkara gave credit to the Gujarat Titans for the way they bounced back right at the end and focussed on his own side’s positives as well.
WHAT. A. WIN 🔥🔥
The pair of R & R has done it against #RR 👏👏
Rahul Tewatia & Rashid Khan pull off a famous win in Jaipur 👏👏
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/1HcL9A97Ch#TATAIPL | #RRvGT pic.twitter.com/eImggsoNKB
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 10, 2024
“First of all we batted really well,” he said at the post-match press conference. “It was a tough period to start with. I thought the way Sanju (Samson) and Riyan (Parag) rebuilt our innings, Hetty (Hetmyer) with his cameo was outstanding, Jaiswal looked in great form as well so those are positives. I think we were right there. Kuldeep Sen coming back bowled three brilliant overs. We just lost it towards the backend. We probably didn’t use the pitch as well as we should have. But that’s the way the game goes. I thought they played really well, stayed in the game and took advantage of the mistakes we made.”
However, even though three other bowlers ended up with an economy rate over 10 from the Rajasthan Royals’ camp, R Ashwin came under the scanner as he failed to take any wickets. But, RR’s director of cricket defended him and backed him to come back strongly in the next game as well.
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“Ash is one of the greatest spinners to have played the game,” Sangakkara said. “You can’t have great days all the time. Once in a while you have a bad day. We learn, we move on. Ash is a fierce competitor. I’m sure he will come back. I thought the way we bowled initially we held our nerve, the spinners Maharaj coming in, Kuldeep Sen coming in, lot of positives to look at but also a lot of things to learn.”
“I don’t know in that sense, it’s way beyond me,” he concluded. “I think his potential is there for everyone to see. I think for Riyan it’s really about concentrating for Rajasthan and this season. And whatever happens, will happen after that. Should never get too ahead of looking at things too far in the future and as long as he keeps his head down, he is working really hard, he is batting really well, he is very organised, he has worked hard off season, he just needs to keep doing those good things and if he does that, good things will happen.”
