I think we could have chased better, could have got game against CSK much closer: Vijay Shankar

Gujarat Titans' batter Vijay Shankar conveyed his feelings of dissatisfaction following a crushing loss against Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier 1 of the IPL 2023 at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium. He believes that Gujarat Titans may have won the match if they were savvier and more tactical while chasing, as GT have been exceptionally strong at chasing.

Hardik Pandya, the captain of the Gujarat Titans, won the toss and invited the CSK team to bat first. After putting into the bat first, CSK were able to set the target of 173 runs in 20 overs. In return, the table toppers could only gather a total of 157 runs in the run chase and suffered a crushing 15-run loss against CSK. Vijay Shankar only got 14 runs off 10 balls for GT, before being removed in the 18th over.

In the post-match presentation, Shankar admitted that they lacked a pragmatic and tactical approach while chasing. He expressed- “I think we could have chased better. We could have got the game much closer. Even the over that I got out, I felt I could have calculated a little better. I could have targeted it in a better way. So, it was a great learning for us. I think we have won a lot of games chasing and this is a one-off game that we had.”

I think CSK bowled pretty well in the middle overs: Vijay Shankar

“I think they (CSK) bowled pretty well in the middle overs. The middle overs are very important for any team that is chasing. We lost wickets. Otherwise, we lost by 15 runs. If two batters were batting, things would have been different. It is just about losing wickets at the wrong time. Maybe a partnership of 20, 30 runs in the middle could have got us closer in the game,” he further added.

The reigning champion will now take on the winner of the eliminator match between the Mumbai Indians and the Lucknow Super Giants on Friday at their home ground ie Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad for Qualifier 2.