NEW DELHI: Gujarat Titans’ batting coach Matthew Hayden left little room for excuses after his side suffered a crushing 99-run loss to Mumbai Indians, describing the outing as “a horrible day” and calling GT’s batting display “unacceptable” in a blunt post-match assessment.
With a target of 200 in front of them, Gujarat were dismissed for just 100, and Hayden pointed to a collapse that, in his view, laid bare issues in both mindset and execution. “I expect our margins to be a lot smaller than 100. That is an unacceptable scorecard for our batting unit,” he said.
“It was just a horrible day for us today. Truth be told, there was nothing good about this day,” Hayden added, underlining how thoroughly the chase had unravelled.
Powerplay collapse sets the tone
Hayden felt the match slipped away during the powerplay, with the Titans’ top order failing to provide any meaningful platform. Even with big names in the line-up such as Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler, GT crumbled early and exposed the middle order far too soon.
“Well, middle order was undoubtedly exposed today. When they’re coming in with six overs, you know that you’re in deep trouble,” Hayden said. “You can’t win it in the powerplay, but you can definitely lose it — and we lost it there.”
He also stressed that GT’s batting framework is built on strong starts, arguing that players like Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan and Glenn Phillips were pushed into situations that do not suit their natural roles. “We shouldn’t be allowing these guys lots of balls. That’s not their role. That’s not what they train for,” he explained.
“Horror story” with the ball as late surge condemns GT
While Hayden’s sharpest criticism was aimed at the batting, he did not spare the bowling unit either, especially the finish. Mumbai Indians, after reaching 44/3, accelerated to 199/5, blasting 73 runs in the final four overs—an end-phase Hayden branded a “horror story.”
“That was just a horror story — 73 off the last four is unacceptable as world-class players,” he said. “It was purely an executional thing.”
Hayden further argued that the pitch did not warrant such a high total, suggesting Gujarat were well below expectations on that surface. “We were very average with the ball on a wicket that I really felt was probably a 175-type wicket,” he added.
No excuses despite a strong line-up
Even with plenty of batting talent available, Hayden made it clear that reputation and names alone do not guarantee results. “When you look down at our batting line-up, we’ve got wonderful players that have to be in a better mindset and better position to take their opportunities,” he said.
He also pointed to the wider reality of the defeat, saying the margin could not be treated as a near-miss. “You can’t be sitting here happy about a 100-run margin game in a 20-over match.”
In closing, Hayden offered a stark reflection on how quickly the chase spiralled out of control. “By that stage, I felt like as a batting coach, I was on the mast and the boat was sinking.”
