CHENNAI: On Tuesday night, a while after Royal Challengers Bengaluru overpowered Gujarat Titans to seal a berth in the IPL final, Glenn Phillips, who was not a part of the playing XI, faced the media.
And one of the questions put forth in front of him was whether the Titans had mentally given up after RCB set a target of 255. Philipps, understandably not amused, called it a “terrible question.” “No one goes in there waiting to go, ‘Oh, you know what? We’re just going to give up on this one.’ Why would we do that as professional cricketers?” he said. “There’s a huge amount of scoreboard pressure when you’re trying to chase 250. And, very few teams have done it. Obviously, the Punjab Kings have managed to do it a couple of times, which has been phenomenal. And I think they’ve maybe made it seem easier than it is. I have yet to be part of a team that’s gotten anywhere near 250, so sometimes it just is what it is,” Phillips went on to add.
Though the question may have been framed in a way that irked the Titans' all-rounder, there was some merit to the underlying argument. And it even reflected in Phillips’ answer.
Titans are not a team that puts up 250-plus totals. At least, not yet. That is not how they have built their squad and playing XI. Their success formula, over the last two years at least, has been about taking powerplay wickets with pace before Rashid Khan and spinners assume charge. And then allowing their ever-so-consistent top three — Shubman Gill, B Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler — to chase down. It works the other way around as well, where they post close to 200 or just-over-200 totals and let the bowling unit do the job.
And it has worked. GT made most of the conditions at home in Ahmedabad, winning five while adding four more wins on the road. But the key to their success has been their pace attack with the ball and the batting troika. Among all ten teams, no one has a more significant contribution from their top three batters. Of the 2580 runs scored so far by GT, 1729 of them came from the top three, adding to a massive 67.02 per cent. If there were any doubts on how crucial their top three are, the next on the list is RR with 58.82 per cent. No one else even has more than 60 per cent.
And that is just one part of the equation. The other part comes to the question Phillips was asked. In the 15 matches this season, not once has GT posted a 230-plus total. Their biggest total is 229/4, which happened twice — and GT did so while batting first — and they won. In fact, GT has crossed 200 or more only six times this season. In comparison, RCB, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings have done so nine times while Rajasthan Royals, the team GT will face next, have posted 200 or more eight times.
That does not take anything away from GT’s success. A team cannot make four play-offs in five years without a winning formula that is consistent. However, the issue with that formula is that it becomes a gamble in knockouts. As Phillips mentioned, everything will have to go according to plan, but it didn’t on Tuesday with Sai Sudharsan’s bat falling on the stumps early on. And it derailed their plans for their chase.
Which is perhaps why, come Friday, the Titans are better off batting first against the Royals. Their best chance of countering the upbeat Rajasthan team is to post a 220-plus total and back the bowlers to dismiss Vaibhav Sooryavanshi early. They did so in Jaipur, beating RR by 77 runs for two points.
Here, however, the stakes are higher than ever. A final is on the horizon, and too in their home ground. Can they stop Sooryavanshi and Co and enter their third final in five years? Friday night will tell.