Gujarat Titans lost to Punjab Kings despite scoring 199 runs in the Indian Premier League 2024. The Kings struggled at one stage, but Shashank Singh (61 not out) and Ashutosh Sharma (31) staged a brilliant comeback and took their team to a win by 3 wickets. Considering the flat track at the Narendra Modi Stadium, former players felt that Gujarat were 10-15 runs short.
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Sanjay Manjrekar said that GT head coach Ashish Nehta made tactical errors, which cost them the game against Punjab. He highlighted the presence of Kane Williamson in the Playing Xi and why it was the wrong move.
“Ashish Nehra, who is always spot on with his moves, made tactical errors in the game. Gujarat had several batters who bat in Kane Williamson’s mode in the T20 format. Instead of the New Zealand player, the Titans should have gone with Shahrukh Khan and also Abhinav Manohar in the playing XI. These two are explosive batters and can hit the ball miles away. When you have such Indian talent in the squad, you should play them to score a few extra runs.
“I think Nehra ji got it wrong today. I am not saying they lost because of this mistake, but it played a role, as the team was a few runs short in the end. Nehra ji made tactical errors in the game,” Sanjay Manjrekar said.
Shahrukh played for Punjab Kings in the previous season but was not retained. He is renowned for his attacking brand of cricket and has won several domestic cricket matches for Tamil Nadu. Gujarat bought him for INR 7.4 crore. The Titans paid INR 2.6 crore for Abhinav.
Gujarat have won two and lost as many games in the 17th season of the league.