Going into their final IPL league match in Ahmedabad on Thursday, Gujarat Titans opener B Sai Sudharsan stated they are more concerned with securing a top-two finish than worrying about net run-rate, despite criticism for their cautious batting strategy.
Although GT is presently ranked second in the standings and has already earned a spot in the playoffs, a win over CSK, who have already been eliminated, would greatly increase their chances of placing in the top two and giving them two chances to advance to the final.
“The first important thing is to play good cricket and win tomorrow (Thursday),” PTI quoted Sudharsan telling reporters on the eve of the game.
“We are not in a position to think about winning by a very big margin or getting a very big win. It is about again doing the right things which we have been doing and first getting a victory. If we are in that position, yes, as every team we would love to close it as smoothly as possible or give ourselves the best opportunity to be in the top two,” he added.
This season, Sudharsan has been a key component of Gujarat’s batting lineup, amassing 554 runs at a remarkable strike-rate of 157.83. However, GT comes into the match fresh off a dismal field performance against Kolkata Knight Riders, when they lost by 29 runs after dropping many catches.
According to Sudharsan, the team has dealt with the problem internally and emphasized that attitude and desire play a major role in fielding.
“As a team we have done good fielding over the tournament. It is just one match where we dropped a few catches. We had a conversation. It is all about attitude, wanting to make a difference in the game. We spoke about the attitude and intent as a fielding group and I think it will reflect well in this game,” he said.
IPL 2026 saw the much-awaited 300-run team total fall well short of pre-season expectations.
Considering the causes, the left-hander stated: “There can be two things. One, I feel wherever we go, the wickets have been little difficult. It’s not have been so straightforward as a very good batting surface. One more thing is it’s not so easy to score 300 and as a batting unit, everybody have to just fire from ball one. That’s when 300 is possible. Also, as a bowling unit who is bowling against, for example, if they are going against 300, it is very difficult to bowl that bad also to be honest. I am not trying to say anything wrong here but the bowlers have to bowl really bad for any team to go 300.”
