Wicket was not easy to hit....: GT skipper Gill after loss to LSG

Gill-led GT's four-match win streak came to an end as explosive knocks from Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran helped LSG secure their fourth win of the tournament at Ekana Stadium on Saturday.

During the post-match presentation, Gill said, "The wicket was not easy to hit from the get-go. This was the conversation that if there is one batsman set, we have to play at least 17-18 overs so that we can get a good 200-220 total on the board. Losing back-to-back wickets did not help our cause. The ball was stopping, it was not an easy wicket. Our strike rotation in the middle was not as good as we expected, and it's something we need to work on."

Gill said that against aggressive players, the mindset is always to take wickets. He also took a positive out of the fact that his team could stretch their target defence till the final over.

"Yes, we were behind in the game, but if we get 2-3 wickets, the match can go very deep, and it did. There was a bit of dew after the 10th and 11th over when we were bowling. The ball did not stop as much as we thought. When you need 30 off 30, and if the match goes to the final over, it is always a good sign for us. That was the conversation in the second timeout that we are going to take this game as deep as possible," he added.

Coming to the match, LSG won the toss and elected to field first. A 120-run partnership between Gill (60 in 38 balls, with six fours and a six) and Sudharsan (56 in 37 balls, with seven fours and a six) got GT off to a fine start. However, after losing both openers, GT could not really recover and made 180/6 in their 20 overs, after losing Washington Sundar (2), Jos Buttler (16), Sherfane Rutherford (22) and Rahul Tewatia (0) quickly.

Shardul Thakur (2/34) and Ravi Bishnoi (2/36) were the top bowlers for LSG, while Digvesh Rathi and Avesh Khan also got a wicket.

During the run-chase, LSG started off really well with a 65-run stand between Markram and skipper Rishabh Pant (21 in 18 balls, with four boundaries). Another brilliant half-century stand followed between Markram (58 in 31 balls, with nine fours and a six) and Nicholas Pooran (61 in 34 balls, with a four and seven sixes). Finishing touches from Ayush Badoni (28* in 20 balls, with two fours and a six) took LSG to a win with three balls and seven wickets left.

LSG is at the third spot in the points table with four wins and two losses, giving them eight points. GT has the same win-loss record and sits at number two.