Shubman Gill, the captain of Gujarat Titans (GT), attributed his team's five-wicket defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL 2026 match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday to their inability to execute plans during crucial middle-over phases. He also addressed his opening partnership with Sai Sudharsan.
Gill on key overs
Reflecting on the match, Gill stated, "Definitely. From the 16th to the 19th, (17th to 19th) those three overs, we couldn't get any boundaries. Those overs were crucial for us. At the end of the Power-play, we were in a good situation. We needed to take wickets." He further added, "I mean, when a batsman gets dropped on nought, it's always tough on the fielder. But it's about how you come back in the game. We had our moments. But we weren't able to hit the right lengths consistently, which was important. But they batted very well in the middle overs."
RCB's chase
The dropped catch mentioned by Gill gave Virat Kohli a lifeline, and the RCB batter capitalized on it with a brilliant 81 off 44 balls. Alongside Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal scored a quickfire 55 off 27 balls, and the duo built a strong partnership during the middle overs, keeping RCB ahead in the chase.
Surface conditions
Gill noted that the surface offered some assistance, especially for spinner Krunal Pandya. "When we were batting, the balls that Krunal bowled, it was gripping a bit. I thought if we could get a few wickets, we would come back in the game," he explained.
GT's batting effort
Earlier, GT posted a formidable total of 205 for 3, powered by Sai Sudharsan's unbeaten 100 off 58 balls. Sudharsan became the fastest to reach 2000 runs in IPL history. Gill and Jos Buttler also contributed valuable runs to the total.
Brief fightback
In the chase, GT briefly fought back when Rashid Khan and Manav Suthar dismissed Jitesh Sharma and Rajat Patidar in quick succession. However, Krunal Pandya's unbeaten 23 off 12 balls, including a strong 18th over, sealed the victory for RCB.
Opening partnership
Gill also discussed his opening partnership with Sudharsan. "He (Sudharsan) was quite upset with the way he got out in the previous game. But in the upcoming games, hopefully, he gives me some more strike in the Power-play," Gill said. During the powerplay, Sudharsan faced 29 deliveries, while Gill faced only seven at the top of the order.
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