Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya admitted that they should have chased down the target early against Punjab Kings as the game went deep and Rahul Tewatia sealed the win for them with a boundary on the second last delivery. Chasing the 154-run target, Shubman Gill scored a fine half-century but was dismissed in the final over which put some added pressure on Gujarat Titans. Sam Curran bowled a couple of good yorkers in the final over to restrict David Miller from hitting any boundary.
Skipper Pandya said there are a lot of things to learn for Gujarat Titans from Thursday’s clash.
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“To be very honest, I would not appreciate the game to go this close from the situation we were in. There was definitely a lot for us to learn from this game," Pandya said in the post-match presentation.
The Titans skipper asserted that the players need to take a bit more risks in the middle overs when they are ahead in the game.
“That’s the beauty of sports, it’s never over till it’s over. We need to go back to the drawing board. They bowled really well. Luckily all our batters are in good nick. We should take risks and play shots in the middle overs, need to make sure the game doesn’t go so deep," he added.
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The star all-rounder also heaped praises on Mohit Sharma and Alzarri Joseph for their disciplined bowling in the middle overs to restrict Punjab Kings to a below-par score. Pandya said Mohit waited for his chance patiently and did a phenomenal job with the ball.
“The wicket was good but because of the hardness of the soil and wicket, the ball was getting dried up. It was a belter when the new ball was playing. I was not surprised when Mohit and Alzarri came. They bowled terrific. Credit to Mohit to come join us as a net bowler and then wait for his chance, knowing his time will come and today it came," he added.
Pandya reaffirmed that he is not a big fan of taking the game to the last over.
“It would have been a tough pill to swallow if the game had gone the other side. I would like to finish the game earlier, not a big fan of taking it to the last over," he concluded.
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