Gujarat Titans' Coach Matthew Hayden Reacts To Narrow IPL 2026 Loss: 'Little Things In T20 Cricket'

Gujarat Titans batting coach Matthew Hayden has called for a more cohesive effort from his batters after the team slipped to its second defeat in as many games in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The Titans, a side that heavily relies on its top order, failed to chase down 211 against Rajasthan Royals at home on Saturday night despite reaching 107 for one in the 11th over.

An opening stand of 78 between Sai Sudharsan (73 off 44) and Kumar Kushagra (18 off 14) gave the hosts an ideal platform, but a flurry of wickets in the middle overs saw them collapse to 161/7.

“Washy Sundar, he had a pretty big decision to make at that point around if you’re going to attack someone like Bishnoi, who was on a roll.

“That was maybe a choice that he can look at and

will look at as well in terms of just trying to be a little bit more cohesive in our run chases, because it has to be said there wasn’t a lot that went wrong in that first 12 overs,” Hayden was quoted as saying in the post match press conference.

That Run Out

After Washington fell to Ravi Bishnoi, the run out of Shahrukh Khan also proved costly for Gujarat Titans.

“The run out (of Shahrukh Khan) was something that, again, was a decision which Shahrukh and Rashid had to make at the time. I haven’t broken down that play because as a coach you tend to kind of look at the ball, but I’ll be interested also to see the approach when we get back to vision of how that run was executed.

“It certainly looked at from the sideline that Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja, at the extra-cover boundary) bumped the ball quite a long way away from him and to regather, as we know, he’s so quick and he’s so good at getting and releasing the ball.

“But there’s two wickets straightaway that would have been the difference. Again, we’re talking about six runs. So those little things in T20 cricket, when you’re chasing down a big total, which we were, they become vital in the decision-making process of a batting unit,” added the Australian.

The loss was GT’s second game in a row this season, joining Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings to have that record.  Still searching for their first win of the season, Gujarat Titans face the undefeated Delhi Capitals in an away fixture on Wednesday.

(With inputs from Agencies)