Gill admits GT's ground fielding 'not up to mark'

Gujarat Titans dropped three chances and missed a run-out chance in the first innings, as Royal Challengers Bengaluru raced away to a record 254 for 5

After suffering a hefty 92-run defeat in Qualifier 1, Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Shubman Gill said that their "ground fielding was not up to the mark". GT dropped three chances, and missed a run-out chance, after opting to bowl first against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Most crucially, Kagiso Rabada dropped Rajat Patidar in the 14th over off Prasidh Krishna, when Patidar was on 21 off 13.

RCB were 140 for 3 at the end of 14 overs, a par score on a high-scoring pitch in Dharamsala. Thereafter, Patidar led a huge surge as RCB scored 114 off their final six overs, and Patidar went on to finish on an unbeaten 33-ball 93. "I think we were going pretty well up until the 12th, 13th over, you know," Gill said after the match. "And I don't think our fielding was at par, dropping a couple of catches and then our ground fielding was not up to the mark."

GT also lost half their side in the powerplay, sliding to 51 for 5. They were 88 for 8, and only a late fifty from Rahul Tewatia took them to 162, before they were dismissed in the final over. "Under pressure situations, we were not up to the mark," Gill said. If you get a good powerplay and on a ground like this, you know, we know the ball travels and the outfield is also very quick… So, if you would have gotten off to a good start in the powerplay, you know, any target with the kind of way the wicket was playing and the kind of ground that we were playing at, it could have been chaseable."

GT will have another chance to make the final, when they play in Qualifier 2 on May 29. They will take on the winner of the Eliminator - either Sunrisers Hyderabad or Rajasthan Royals - in New Chandigarh.