Gujarat Titans had to crisscross three cities and play three matches in six days, including taking the field in the final less than 24 hours after landing in Ahmedabad. But Vikram Solanki refused to use scheduling or travel-related inconveniences as an excuse for Sunday's defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL final. He did, however, indicate that coach Ashish Nehra was behind the batting-order reshuffle, a gamble that did not exactly produce the expected result.
"The number of games in a short period of time is challenging. Of course it is, at the end of a campaign, but I'm not going to lean on that at all," Solanki remarked, staying clear of the excuses after RCB beat GT by five wickets to clinch their second IPL title.
“The fact is that RCB have beaten us today, and we must be strong enough to hold our heads high and be proud of the campaign that we've put together, yet also be gracious enough to congratulate RCB. So, I don't want to take away from the fact that RCB have won by simply saying, 'Oh, we've had this number of games in such a short space of time and we're fatigued.' That's not really what we're about.”
GT played Qualifier 1 in Dharamshala on May 26, travelled to Chandigarh the following day and featured in Qualifier 2 on May 29. They eventually reached Ahmedabad at around 10 pm on Saturday after their flight from Chandigarh was delayed by the torrential rain and storms that have swept across northern India in recent days.
"Unfortunately, I can't control the weather. If the weather means we have to land late, then there's nothing we can do about it. We had an opportunity to challenge RCB. In parts, we did, but they were the better side today and I think it's as simple as that," Solanki said without blaming the defeat on the logistical nightmare they experienced before the final.
The Titans promoted Nishant Sindhu to No. 3, a position that Jos Buttler had batted at throughout the season with considerable degree of success. Buttler scored 526 runs during the campaign, but he was held back and sent in at No. 4 - a move that was, apparently, not discussed beforehand in the team meeting.
"That was a bit of a judgement call. Ashish (Nehra) made that call to send him in at No. 3 at that time. We didn't really discuss it, but Ashish makes those calls now and again, if the captain is around, in conjunction with the captain," Solanki said of the move.
It appears that Nehra's last-minute decision was not discussed with Shubman Gill either, as the skipper was out in the middle when the decision had to be made. Sindhu walked in after Gill's dismissal and scored 20 off 18 balls. Buttler, who was held back to No. 4, managed 19 off 23 deliveries before being dismissed with the score at 73.
The team director conceded that they failed to read the pitch properly. "We probably just made a slight miscalculation of what score was appropriate on that pitch. I don't think it was a 200-plus pitch of any sort. I think if we had got somewhere around the 180-mark, that would have been a challenging total for them to chase." GT's batters, intent on going on the offensive from the outset, lost wickets at regular intervals and eventually managed only 155 for eight, a total that RCB chased down comfortably, thanks to Virat Kohli's unbeaten 75.
Solanki admitted that he was unable to fully applaud Kohli's innings as it had come at GT's expense. "We're all privileged to see good players play, and Virat is an exceptional player. He played a great knock for his team. I'm probably not celebrating that knock right now," he said, adding: "Virat played very well to almost anchor that chase and guide it the way he did."
GT's batting revolved largely around the top three: Sai Sudharsan, Gill and Buttler. Solanki was asked whether the team had become overly dependent on them, particularly the two openers, each of whom scored more than 700 runs during the season.
