Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 3 : Gujarat Titans batter Sai Sudharsan has expressed his thoughts on Gujarat's win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Wedneday. He highlighted the importance of Jos Butler's experience in stabilizing the middle overs and delivering strong performances in the last five overs.
In the post-match press conference, he emphasized that Butler's knowledge and experience are crucial, especially on a challenging wicket.
"I think it might be probably because of the left-right combination and having a bit more experience in number 3 and number 4 as you can see. I feel Butler is bringing in a lot of experience and a lot of knowledge in his back, which is helping us to settle or stabilize the middle overs and have an excellent last five overs. It was excellent, I feel, because the wicket was not as easy as we can see." Sai Sudharsan said while speaking in the post-match press conference.
Sudharsan pointed out that the wicket was difficult, even for RCB in the first innings. However, he believed the wicket eased out slightly in the second innings. He praised Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar for bowling exceptionally well. He concluded that the strategy was to take the game deep because the wicket wasn't behaving as expected.
"Even RCB found it a little difficult in the first innings, but I felt it slightly eased out in the second innings, and obviously, they started well. The way Josh and Bhuvi Bhai bowled was extraordinary. So I felt the conversation was a bit, it was more of taking the game deep because right now the wicket was not playing the way we wanted."
He highlighted the importance of having wickets in hand when chasing a low target on a difficult wicket against a strong bowling attack like RCB. He believed that wickets in hand are crucial to maximizing the team's chances of winning in such situations.
"So slowly after 8-9 overs it got better and we maximized the most out of it. Sir, I feel whenever we chase a less target in a difficult wicket and a bowling like RCB which is one of the best bowling in the league this year. I feel the most important thing is wickets in hand," he said.
Sudharsan has emphasized the value of his practice sessions with the Gujarat Titans' high-quality international bowlers. He felt this exposure has helped him learn and adapt to different conditions. He also credited his experiences playing for India and other leagues for further deepening his understanding of the game and its fundamentals.
"The practice time I get here with the Titans, with the bowlers, all quality bowlers, all international bowlers. So I feel that has helped me even from the nets. I would say I got exposed to a lot of things, a lot of difficult conditions. So I have learnt a lot in these three years, and obviously playing for India and playing for all other leagues outside India, I feel it has helped me understand the game better and the basics of the game as well."
He also acknowledged that despite the dropped catches, the fielders are still good and put in much effort during practice. He believed the issue might be due to adapting to different grounds and lighting conditions, as each venue has unique characteristics.
"I feel whoever dropped the catchers, they are still good fielders, and we put a lot of work in fielding every day in the practice. So I feel it's just a matter of getting used to the grounds and getting used to the different lights because Ahmedabad is different, Bangalore is different, and next, Hyderabad will be a bit different. So I feel getting used to that is what we are missing, maybe," he added.
After winning the toss, GT opted to bowl first, batting first, RCB was restricted to 170, which was a good bowling effort by GT. During the run-chase, GT lost their skipper Shubman Gill (14) early, but top knocks from Jos Buttler (73* in 39 balls, with five fours and six sixes), Sai Sudharsan (49 in 36 balls, with seven fours and a six) and Sherfane Rutherford (30* in 18 balls, with a four and three sixes) took GT to a win with 13 balls and eight wickets in hand.