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Former India and Kolkata Knight Riders batsman Rohan Gavaskar has criticized Gujarat Titans and their captain Shubman Gill for their slow approach in the team’s defeat to KKR on Saturday.
On 16 May, GT lost to KKR at the Eden Gardens after winning five consecutive matches. Gujarat Titans fell behind by 29 runs after scoring 247 runs with the ball.
KKR ends GT’s winning streak
Shubman Gill and Gujarat Titans’ decision to bowl first didn’t exactly go to plan. Finn Allen continued his aggressive style and hit 10 sixes in his innings of 93 runs in 35 balls.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi scored an unbeaten 82 off 44 balls, while Cameron Green also scored an unbeaten 52 off just 28 balls, taking the score to almost 250. GT also suffered a terrible case of butterfinger as Allen was dropped twice, while Raghuvanshi and Green were dropped once each.
GT’s blueprint of relying on its famous top three of Shubman Gill, Sai Sudarshan and Jos Buttler didn’t quite work this time. Gill and Sudarshan made a steady start, but Sudarshan had to retire hurt.
Gill kept the pace going, but Sunil Narine was again at his best. Gill got along well with Buttler, but their partnership basically played catch-up. Narine dismissed Gill for 85 and Buttler also completed his half-century.
After Butler’s dismissal, Sudarshan returned and completed his half-century, but could not lead his team to victory.
“No one had a good strike rate” – Rohan Gavaskar
Speaking to Cricbuzz after the match, Rohan Gavaskar said that the problem lies in the strike rate of GT batsmen. Gavaskar said that even though three GT batsmen scored fifties, none of them achieved them at a sufficient strike rate, given that they had to chase the target.
He said, “I can clearly see the difference. If you really want to understand the difference in batting, forget everything and look at the strike rate. For KKR, Ajinkya Rahane was the only batsman whose strike rate was around 100. Every other batsman had a strike rate above 180. For Gujarat Titans, only Sai Sudarshan had a strike rate above 180. All the other batsmen had a strike rate below 180. Was.”
“So when you are chasing 240, it should not be the case that not a single batsman has a strike rate above 200. You want one or two batsmen to play impressive cameos. Even if someone scores just 25 runs, that innings should come at a strike rate of 200, 225 or 250. Here, Sai Sudarshan’s strike rate was around 190, but any other batsman’s strike rate was Wasn’t above 180,” he said.
Shubman Gill’s performance in IPL 2026
GT captain, Shubman Gill, is currently placed second in the Orange Cap list, with a gap of just 2 runs between him and his opening partner Sai Sudarshan, who is placed first.
Gill has so far scored 552 runs in 12 matches at an average of 46 and strike rate of 160. He has also scored five half-centuries.
Also Read: Shubman Gill’s heartfelt Instagram post goes viral after GT lose to KKR in IPL 2026