Gujarat Titans’ IPL 2026 setback in Ahmedabad on Saturday ultimately came down to razor-thin margins — a six-run swing shaped by discipline and execution. GT conceded nine wides, while Rajasthan Royals managed just three, and those extra deliveries proved costly alongside other small errors as the Titans lost for the second match in a row, joining Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings in an unwanted run of early-season trouble.
Hayden on wides, rhythm and the fine line in T20
Batting coach Matthew Hayden didn’t try to deflect the issue of wides, acknowledging it as a clear concern. He pointed out that two of GT’s leading overseas performers — Kagiso Rabada and Rashid Khan — were directly responsible for most of the problem deliveries, with Rabada bowling three wides and Rashid also conceding two.
Rabada finished with figures of 2 for 42, having earlier returned 1 for 34 from three overs in GT’s previous match. Rashid Khan picked up 1 for 39, while Mohammed Siraj, the other key fast-bowling option, ended with 1 for 48.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Hayden said GT’s bowlers looked out of sync with both rhythm and line. He felt Rabada’s numbers were heavier than what the bowler deserved for his overall effort and added that Rabada and Rashid had still shown encouraging spells within the outing.
Hayden also assessed Siraj’s performance as straightforwardly off the mark. He said that when they reviewed Siraj’s pitch map, the lengths were coming a touch too short and the line slightly too wide, describing it as the kind of off day that can happen even to elite operators. On Rashid, Hayden believed the leg-spinner could have produced a better day, with more wickets very much possible for him and also for Rabada.
Looking at the bowling patterns, Hayden noted that Rabada tended to operate from a leg-stump channel at times around a back-of-a-length area. He suggested that balls pitched on a short-of-length or good-length were occasionally drifting fractionally away from off stump. Even so, Hayden stressed that in T20 cricket the details matter, because batters now have the intent to score quickly and punish even minor deviations.
For Hayden, the bigger lesson was the scale of the margins. “It just shows you the margins in these games — this is a loss by six runs — are so small,” he said. His message was clear: GT must keep improving discipline, especially around wides, and sustain their best-ball accuracy consistently.
GT’s batting and boundary imbalance vs RR
Hayden also linked the defeat to shortcomings with the bat. In the earlier match against Punjab Kings (PBKS), GT fell short by a wider margin, while against Rajasthan Royals they were only slightly off the mark — but not enough.
He highlighted boundary trends across the two games. Against PBKS, GT won comfortably on fours, 15 to six, yet lost on sixes, three to 14. On Saturday, GT struck 24 fours compared with RR’s 18, but again the six-hitting department tilted away from the Titans: GT managed seven sixes while RR hit 12.
Hayden said dot-ball pressure and boundary selection were both areas he examined after the last match. He observed that in the Punjab Kings game, the opposition were more effective boundary-hitters overall, while GT were better at strike rotation. He suggested the combination of those factors still needs refinement to close out chases and maintain scoreboard momentum.
How the chase swung: from control to collapse
Chasing Rajasthan Royals’ 210, GT were positioned well at multiple stages. After ten overs, they were 103 for 1, looking close to ideal for a chase of that size. However, the momentum shifted sharply in the middle overs when Ravi Bishnoi took control.
- GT started their chase strongly and reached 103 for 1 after ten overs.
- In the 11th over, GT were 107 for 1, keeping the chase on track.
- By the end of the 15th over, the situation deteriorated to 161 for 7, with Bishnoi playing a major role in the collapse.
Hayden explained that a key moment involved Washington Sundar having to decide whether to attack Bishnoi while the bowler was in full rhythm. He suggested it was a decision that could be reviewed, with the aim of staying more cohesive during run chases, especially since the first 12 overs had contained “plenty of great stuff” — including Washington attempting to hit Bishnoi over the longer boundary on the leg-side and eventually being caught.
He also addressed the run-out of Shahrukh Khan, describing it as a moment shaped by split-second judgement between Shahrukh and Rashid. Hayden said he hadn’t broken down the ball itself in full detail as a coach, but he intended to look at how the run was executed once they had the replay. He noted that from the boundary side, it appeared that Ravindra Jadeja at extra cover had bumped the ball a long way away, and that the speed and skill of Jadeja in retrieving and releasing the ball quickly is a major reason such run-out chances can vanish in a flash.
Ultimately, Hayden returned to the theme of small margins. He said two wickets early on could have made the difference, and that in T20 chases chasing a large total — as GT were — small execution errors in decision-making and timing become decisive.
GT will now turn their attention to their next fixture against Delhi Capitals. Delhi have won both of their games so far, and the Titans face them on Wednesday in Delhi.
