GT’s batting coach, revealed how adeptly his team used the surface to outclass MI.
Gujarat Titans (GT) opened their account in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 by defeating Mumbai Indians (MI) in Ahmedabad last night. They were clinical in all departments, as MI were left befuddled with the conditions in the game.
During the match’s proceedings, Parthiv Patel, GT’s batting coach, revealed how adeptly his team used the surface in their favour to outclass MI, who were unprepared for what transpired in the middle. Parthiv disclosed that GT deliberately asked to play on a black soil wicket. It was slow, and the old ball was gripping significantly into the surface.
“It is obviously the black soil. (This is) On the slower side, something which we wanted. We have deliberately asked for black soil wicket since MI has been practicing on red soil wicket.”
It must be noted that black soil wickets aren’t as quick as red soil wickets. The bounce is also variable, which doesn’t allow the batters to hit big shots easily. The ball doesn’t come on the bat at a good pace, losing its speed massively after hitting the surface and making boundary-hitting arduous.
When MI came to bowl in the first innings, GT openers went hard after them and maximised the powerplay, scoring 66 runs. Later, MI pulled things back, led by Hardik Pandya, who bowled shorter lengths and took the pace off the ball.
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However, MI still bowled several loose deliveries and let GT score an above-par total. Meanwhile, GT were clear with their plans, pulling lengths back immediately after the powerplay and didn’t give the speed to let MI power them over the boundary.
Prasidh Krishna was the best bowler, snaring two wickets while conceding only 18 runs in his four-over spell. He hardly bowled on-pace deliveries, and other pacers followed the same route to defend the total easily.
Rashid Khan bowled only two overs, which shows how much assistance speedsters were getting in Ahmedabad. MI mostly played their cricket on red soil wickets with true bounce, which is often found in the Wankhede Stadium. When they had to acclimatise to slower conditions, the team failed collectively.
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