Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], April 5 : Gujarat Titans batting coach Matthew Hayden urged his bowlers to be more consistent with their execution after a narrow six-run defeat to Rajasthan Royals in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 clash on Saturday.
Chasing a daunting 211-run target, Gujarat Titans fell just short despite being well-placed for a large part of the innings, as accurate death bowling from Jofra Archer and Tushar Deshpande sealed a thrilling win for the Royals.
A key concern for GT was their lack of discipline with the ball, conceding nine wides compared to RR's three -- a margin that ultimately matched the difference in the final result. Hayden admitted that his bowlers were slightly off rhythm.
"I felt like a lot of our bowlers were just a little bit off their rhythm and their line in particular," Hayden said at the post-match press conference, according to ESPNcricinfo.
He, however, backed his premier bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Rashid Khan despite their expensive returns, suggesting their performances were better than the figures indicated.
"KG Rabada's figures, I think, were a bit more expensive than perhaps what he bowled today. I thought he was actually pretty good, and the same with Rashid.
"Siraj had an off day, simple as that. When we reviewed his pitch map, he was a little bit too short, a little bit too wide, and that's just a great bowler just having an off day. Whereas I thought Rashid actually could have had a much better day. It could have been a couple more wickets in the wicket column, and so too with KG Rabada as well."
Highlighting the fine margins in T20 cricket, Hayden stressed the need for better discipline, especially in controlling extras.
"It just shows you the margins in these games - this is a loss by six runs - are so small," he said. "But the point is definitely noted in terms of the discipline and wides and just those abilities of our bowlers to keep consistently bowling their best ball."
GT's struggles were not limited to bowling. Their inability to match RR in six-hitting has also emerged as a concern early in the season. While they matched or exceeded their opponents in boundaries, the difference in sixes proved costly once again.
"When we saw both sides hit plenty of boundaries and the dot balls are also another thing that I looked at in our batting in the last game." Hayden said. "Actually, when we looked at the Punjab Kings game versus us, they were much better boundary-hitters than us. We were better at actually striking rotation."
The Titans appeared in control of the chase at 103 for 1 after 10 overs before a collapse triggered by Ravi Bishnoi derailed their innings, as they slipped to 161 for 7 within four overs.
Hayden pointed to key moments, including decision-making against Bishnoi, as turning points in the chase.
"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. There was plenty of great stuff," he said.
He also reflected on a crucial run-out involving Shahrukh Khan and Rashid Khan, crediting Ravindra Jadeja for his sharp fielding.
"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 are 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."
With back-to-back defeats, the Gujarat Titans will look to bounce back when they face the Delhi Capitals in their next match in Delhi.