Gujarat Titans batsmen are working with head coach Ashish Nehra and batting coach Matthew Hayden. (PTI photo) NEW DELHI: Gujarat Titans batting coach Matthew Hayden did not hold back after the humiliating 99-run defeat by Mumbai Indians, calling it a “terrible day” and describing the batting performance as “unacceptable” in a scathing post-match assessment.Chasing 200, Gujarat Titans were bowled out for just 100, a collapse which Hayden said revealed serious lapses in both thought and execution. “I expect our margins to be much less than 100. That’s an unacceptable score for our batting unit,” he said bluntly.
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Matthew Hayden reacts after Gujarat Titans’ defeat against Mumbai Indians “It was just a terrible day for us today. To be honest, there was nothing good about the day,” he added.READ ALSO: Tilak Varma tops Gujarat Titans as record blitz rewrites IPL historyA powerplay breakdown sets the toneThe game practically got away during the power play, according to Hayden, as the Titans’ top order failed to lay the groundwork. Despite stars like Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler, GT soon fell apart, exposing the middle order prematurely.“Well, the middle order was definitely exposed today. When they come in with six overs, you know you’re in big trouble,” Hayden said. “You can’t win it on the powerplay, but you can certainly lose it — and that’s where we lost it.He emphasized that the structure of the team depends on strong starts, adding that players like Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan and Glenn Phillips have been forced into roles they are not designed for.“We shouldn’t let those guys have a lot of balls. That’s not their role. That’s not what they train for,” he explained.“Horror story” with a ballWhile the batting attracted most of Hayden’s ire, he also criticized the bowling unit for the disastrous finish. From 44/3, Mumbai Indians raced to 199/5, 73 runs in the last four overs – a phase Hayden described as a “horror story”.“It was just a horror story – 73 in the last four is unacceptable for a world-class player,” he said. “It was purely an enforcement matter.”Hayden added that the course didn’t justify such a high total, suggesting that the GT fell significantly short. “We were very average with the ball on a goal that I really felt was probably a 175-type goal.No excuses despite a strong lineupDespite having a formidable batting unit on paper, Hayden made it clear that reputation means little without delivery.“When you look at our batting line-up, we have great players who have to have a better mindset and a better position to take advantage of their opportunities,” he said. “You can’t sit here happy with 100 runs in a 20 over match.In the end, he bluntly admitted how quickly the chase had unraveled. “At that stage I felt like a batting coach, I was on the mast and the ship was sinking.
