Gujarat Titans assistant coach Parthiv Patel has pointed out poor fielding as the major reason for their 29-run loss against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens.
The Titans, bowling first, conceded a mammoth total of 247/2 in 20 overs courtesy of a Finn Allen blitz of 93 from just 35 balls. Angkrish Raghuvanshi scored an unbeaten 82 off 44 balls and Cameron Green remained unbeaten on 52 off 28 balls.
The Titans gave lives to all three batters. Allen was dropped by Mohammed Siraj at long-on on 33. Green was dropped by Arshad Khan on 23, and Raghuvanshi was dropped on 53 by Washington Sundar. Parthiv said that the chances they dropped were the difference due to the need to make all opportunities count when playing against quality teams.
“I think catching is something which obviously made a huge difference. So, when you are playing high-scoring games, when you are playing against quality batters, you don’t get many opportunities. As soon as you get that opportunity, you have to make sure you catch the balls. And I thought that was the difference,” Patel said after GT’s 29-run loss, as quoted by Cricbuzz.
Allen’s 93 set the platform for the Knights. His innings consisted of 10 fours and ten big maximums. He scored 60 runs off his final 18 balls as he took the attack to the Titans’ bowlers in the middle overs. Parthiv praised the New Zealander’s innings for doing it against a quality pace attack.
“He played a very good innings, there is no doubt about it. We thought that it was not an easy pitch. And the quality and pace attack that we have. We are talking about Mohammed Siraj, KG Rabada. These are established fast bowlers. So, he played a very good game against them,” Patel said.
The Titans play their final league game of the season against the Chennai Super Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on May 21, hoping to solidify a top-two finish with a win.
