We couldn't retract negative momentum, got some work to do: Hayden after GT's loss to MI

Ahmedabad, April 21 (IANS) Gujarat Titans’ assistant coach Matthew Hayden admitted that the team fell well short of expectations in both departments as Mumbai Indians handed them a crushing defeat, with the former Australia opener pointing to poor execution on a surface he felt was far from a high-scoring one as he said that the 2022 champions have ‘got some work to do.’

Despite Tilak Varma’s stunning unbeaten century powering the Mumbai Indians to 199/5, Hayden believed the conditions at the Narendra Modi Stadium offered assistance to the bowlers and should have been managed better.

“Considering that performance, which, as I said, was both very average with the ball firstly, on a wicket that I really felt was probably a 175 type wicket. You know, when you look historically at this black soil pitch on No. 5, it's a 218 wicket for the lost five batters, that's been its winning first inning score, and today it wasn't that wicket,” Hayden said in the press conference.

“It was visible that it had cracks in it, and it was up and down. So credit also has to go to Tilak Varma, who put in a wonderful performance from the position that you were just mentioning before. So we've got some work to do, definitely,” he said.

Tilak’s counterattack proved decisive after MI were under pressure in the middle overs, with the left-hander turning the game around through an extraordinary display of power-hitting. Hayden likened the innings to a rare feat under difficult circumstances.

“Huge performance. I once spoke to a fisherman and asked him a question about longevity in his life and in his career, and he said, boy, when there's plenty of fish around, everyone catches fish. But what he did was that he caught fish when no one else was catching fish,” Hayden said.

Hayden acknowledged that his side was aware of MI’s potential threat but failed to respond when it mattered most, saying, “You know, Mumbai Indians, we all know that they're a dangerous side. We all know that they're notorious starters. We all know that they've got magic within that ocean that surrounds their ground there in Mumbai.

“And, you know, as an opposition side, we knew that, and we definitely, we blinked. And when you blink against a world-class player like Tilak Farmer, even on a wicket that's kind of spicy, that is our downfall. And we couldn't really retract the negative momentum that was going our way because of the performance that we saw at Tilak's moment.”

The former opener emphasised that Tilak’s innings stood out for its adaptability and game awareness rather than just brute force.

“It wasn't just a one-dimensional performance. It wasn't a cookie-cutter-type performance. It was a dominant performance down the ground. He read the play nicely. We went into the wicket. He was able to pick up and play with power and precision.”

Hayden also pointed to tactical lapses, including poor shot selection and an inability to adapt to boundary dimensions as he said, “And when you reflect on our own game, you know, we had one side of the ground that was a little more inaccessible than the other, and we lost, what, three wickets into the bigger side of that boundary.”

With Gujarat Titans now holding a 3-3 record, Hayden admitted the side has been inconsistent and failed to capitalise on a manageable chase.

“So Tilak, he had his day up, and he's now got Mumbai Indians in a position where they seemed like they were lacking a bit of belief, although suddenly with two younger players, they're able to beat us at home here. You know, this is a 50-50 record for us now. I think we're actually playing accordingly to that record, winning three, losing three. You know, before tonight, we won two out of the three run chases. Again, we put ourselves in the position to chase runs,” Hayden stated.

Hayden stressed that a target of 200 was within reach, particularly with the quality at the top of the batting order, but the early collapse derailed the effort. He said, “And it wasn't an impossible total. Two hundred still is a total that I would back our three world-class players at the top of the order to etch into that a bit more and then allow our more sort of game players. An opportunity to set out their scores and back deep into the innings.”

Summing up the performance, Hayden conceded it was a forgettable outing for his side, with little to take away apart from one bright spot.

“It was just a horrible day for us today, truth be told. There was nothing good about this day, really, apart from Kagiso Rabada’s performance with the ball,” he noted.

With the loss exposing both tactical and executional shortcomings, the Gujarat Titans will look to regroup quickly as the tournament enters a crucial phase.