Gujarat Titans lost the match by 33 runs.
Former Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) head coach Tom Moody, who guided the franchise to their only Indian Premier League (IPL) title in 2016, has opened up about a lost chance during the Gujarat Titans (GT) vs Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) clash last night in Ahmedabad. The former Australian player hoped to see South African pacer Gerald Coetzee in place of his national teammate Kagiso Rabada.
The latter will fly back for the World Test Championship (WTC) final. He will not be available for GT in the IPL 2025 playoffs. According to Moody, GT could have tried Coetzee instead of Rabada, as they might need him in the knockouts ahead.
“I would have thought that was definitely worth exploring. Unless there’s some injury issue that we don’t know, or illness. It would make sense that you’d have a look at him,” he stated.
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Rabada conceded 45 runs in his four-over quota and went wicketless against LSG last night. Overall, he has taken two wickets in four games at an expensive economy rate of 11.57. On the other hand, Coetzee bagged two wickets in as many matches for GT with an impressive economy of 7.66.
He also opined that using Rashid Khan in the 12th over of the innings was a bit late. Moody also spoke about the recent dip in the leg-spinner’s form as he got hit for 24 runs by Mitchell Marsh in that over. Earlier, the centurion’s onslaught off Rashid, in his first over, included three boundaries and two sixes.
“It was late. Normally you see Rashid come in when you’re in desperate need to strike. But that tells you maybe something about where the confidence is when it comes to Rashid Khan at the moment, not only from his own personal point of view but also the captaincy’s point of view. You know, we’re not going to introduce him too early. But Sai Kishore, you can’t take too much away from him. He got the nod ahead of Rashid. He’s still a very crafty bowler. But he was hit by a tidal wave today,” he said to ESPN Cricinfo.
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However, Moody is not too worried about the current table-toppers and the Afghan spinner. He believes that GT should only concentrate on the positives during the business end of this cash-rich league.
“I think they are better off just trying to take positives moving forward, because we are right at the pointy end of the business and the last thing you want to be doing is over-analysing certain issues. And I am sure the likes of Rashid Khan is doing everything in his powers to recapture that consistency, which we’ve seen before,” stressed the former coach.
Shubman Gill and Co. have had a great season in IPL 2025 so far. They are currently placed at the top of the chart with nine wins in 13 matches. Their last night’s loss against LSG was only the fourth of this edition.
GT will play their last league-stage fixture against the bottom-placed Chennai Super Kings. However, ensuring a victory in that match will not guarantee them a finish in the top two. They will have to depend on the remaining results of the other three franchises (Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Punjab Kings, and Mumbai Indians).
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