Glenn Phillips despite not playing in Qualifier 1, came in to address the media in the post-match press conference after his team’s (Gujarat Titans) loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Dharamsala on Tuesday.
Phillips hit back when a reporter asked if GT conceded defeat in their minds after RCB posted a massive score of 254. The New Zealand batter called the question “silly” and “terrible”.
“That’s a silly question. That is a really silly question. No one goes in there waiting to go, ‘Oh, you know what? We’re just going to give up on this one.’ Why would we do that as professional cricketers? That’s a terrible question. We went out there, we gave it everything. Unfortunately, when you’re trying to chase 250, everything has to go right. And we went out there to try and make everything go right, and obviously it didn’t.”
Gujarat were shot out for 162, suffering a 92-run defeat, as they failed to recover after losing Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler early. Phillips felt there was a huge scoreboard pressure, which resulted in the top-order collapse.
“There’s a huge amount of scoreboard pressure when you’re trying to chase 250. And, you know, very few teams have done it. Obviously, Punjab Kings have managed to do it a couple of times, which has been phenomenal. And I think they’ve maybe made it seem easier than it is. I’ve yet to be part of a team that’s gotten anywhere near 250, so, you know, sometimes it just is what it is,” he said.
Phillips was asked how does it feel addressing the media despite not playing in the match.
In reply, Phillips said: “No, that’s fine, that’s fine. It’s all good. Yeah, obviously we’re all part of the team together, and we all have equal media roles to play. I think sometimes an outside perspective from someone who isn’t playing the game, especially for the guys that have to now go and play an Eliminator (helps). It’s really important for them to just knuckle down, get their heads where they need to be. Obviously, we’ve played a lot of good cricket leading up to now, so for the boys that are on the park, you know, do what they have to do to make sure they’re ready for the next game. As Ash (Ashish Nehra) says, ‘chill pill,’ make sure they’re ready for the next one.”
