New Delhi: Batting coach of Gujarat Titans Matthew Hayden Didn’t back down after his team’s humiliating 99-run defeat mumbai indianscalled it a “terrible day” and called the batting performance “unacceptable” in a scathing post-match review.In the chase of 200 runs, Gujarat Titans were bowled out for just 100, a defeat that Hayden said exposed serious flaws in mentality and execution. “I expected our margin to be much less than 100. That’s an unacceptable scorecard for our batsmen,” he said bluntly.“Today was a terrible day for us. There was nothing good about it, to be honest,” he added.Also read: Tilak Varma’s record-breaking blitz rewrites IPL history as he beats Gujarat TitansPowerplay collapse sets toneHayden said the game actually slipped away on the power play as the Titans’ top order failed to lay the groundwork. Despite bragging about celebrity status Shubman GillSyed Sudarsan and If the housekeeperGT collapsed early and exposed the mid-range prematurely.“Well, the middle order was definitely exposed today. When they come in with six overs, you know you’re in big trouble,” Hayden said. “You can’t win it on the power play, but you can certainly lose it — and we lost it right there.”He stressed that the team’s structure hinged on a strong start, adding that players like Rahul Tewatia, Shah Rukh Khan and Glenn Phillips were forced into roles for which they were not suited.“We shouldn’t let these guys have a lot of the ball. That’s not their role. That’s not what they train for,” he explained.“Horror Stories” with BallsWhile the batting drew much of Hayden’s ire, he was also critical of the bowling team’s disastrous finish. Mumbai Indians surged from 44/3 to 199/5, scoring 73 runs in the last four overs – a phase Hayden described as a “horror story”.“It’s just a horror story – just 73 points in the last four games, which is unacceptable for a world-class player,” he said. “It’s purely an execution thing.”Hayden added that the course didn’t justify such a high total, suggesting the GT was significantly underperforming. “We were very average with the ball on the wicket and I really thought it could be a 175-type wicket.”Despite the strong lineup, there are no excusesAlthough Hayden has a strong hitting unit on paper, he made it clear that reputation means nothing without the pitching.“When you look down at our batting line-up, we have good players who have to be in a better mindset and be in a better position to take their chances,” he said. “You can’t sit here and be happy about a 100-point lead in a 20-plus-point game.”Finally, he candidly admitted how quickly the manhunt ended. “It got to that stage where I felt like a batting coach and I was standing on the mast and the ship was sinking.”
