Former South African gun fast bowler Dale Steyn questioned Shubman Gill’s tactics after the Gujarat Titans suffered a three-wicket loss against the Punjab Kings at New Chandigarh on Tuesday. Gill brought Prasidh Krishna into the attack in the 13th over, and Steyn said the GT skipper should have given the ball to the lanky pacer a bit earlier than he eventually did.
Defending 163, Krishna was able to keep his team alive as he bagged three quick wickets. The Karnataka pacer accounted for PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer, Shashank Singh, and Marcus Stoinis. Krishna eventually returned with impressive figures of 3-29 in his quota of four overs, but GT ended on the wrong side of the result.
Steyn said GT were spoiled for choice in the bowling department, whereas they had one batter short.
Dale Steyn said on ESPN Cricinfo, “They got their wickets with him in the end, but they left it too late. You are always figuring your team in the first two games. So they found themselves with one batter short and one bowler too many. When that’s the case, somebody gets under-bowled or bowled too late, like Prasidh here. When he picks up three wickets in his first two overs, you start to wish you used him earlier. Siraj also bowled only two overs, which tells you they’ve too many options and are spoilt for choice.”
The former Proteas pacer said it is never easy to hit the ground running for a fast bowler.
“You want to get a feel of the game, if you are Prasidh. It’s so difficult to sit on the bench and then suddenly be tasked with making something happen. So for him to be able to do that and pick up a bunch of wickets was impressive. But you want to be able to be in the game earlier, get an over under the belt, and be a little bit sweaty. Feel the game and the energy of the game to get the best out of players. To wait so long also puts pressure on the player.”
On the other hand, former CSK batter Ambati Rayudu concurred with Steyn, stating that Krishna should have bowled earlier.
“They have designated him to be a death bowler and someone who will pick up wickets under pressure. But there was one bowler too many in that GT side. When you have too many options, you always under bowl one bowler. Prasidh should have definitely bowled one over in the powerplay or at least between the 7th and 10th overs to pick up a wicket. If the target was 170 or 180, this ploy was fine. But with 160, he should have definitely bowled earlier,” said Rayudu (via the aforementioned source).
Gujarat Titans will next take on Rajasthan Royals at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, on Saturday.
