Sadly, it wasn’t the perfect game leading up to the mid-season interval for us, with the Gujarat Titans proving to be a tad too dominant on the night in Ahmedabad. Clearly, it wasn’t our day. But as with our three back-to-back wins, it’s just a matter of time before we get back on the winning horse, and get onto another juggernaut.

Our Bowling Coach Shane Bond addressed the media in the post-match press conference after the match, and spoke about the team plan and execution that went slightly missing.

“It's a combination of things. We're not executing what we need to. We've got pretty simple plans. Watch how we bowled in an area. We got hit and immediately resorted to some changes. It’s disappointing when we can’t distinguish plans when we are on the back foot during difficult run chases,” he said.

“Like in the last game, I think it was 100/4, and then we just dished up freebies. We gave (David) Miller and (Abhinav) Manohar free hits, and once we gave players to get in runs, they took the game away from us. And that's the disappointing thing from our point of view. So we just have to be better in our decision-making and our execution. In short, it was a tough day for us.”

Bond explained how our opponents exploited the opportunities on a tricky cricket pitch, especially GT’s seamers in the powerplay, who got the ball to talk.

“When you chase 208, the only plan is to keep going. We (MI) tried to ride the storm as the ball swung differently. Look at the way Hardik and Mohammed Shami bowled, not giving us free balls to hit. We had to try to manufacture something. Thus, the score at the end of the powerplay reflected how they bowled on a wicket, which they did the same to RR.”

“The first six overs were tough for both teams, as it would get difficult for the bowling team because of the dew factor. We were trying to stop the damage to our run rate, which has taken another big hit tonight.”

There were some massive positives though in the larger scheme of things despite the defeat. Starting with Arjun Tendulkar.

“He did well today, obviously after what happened in the last game. It's never easy to step out onto the ground that is a Colosseum with a big crowd. We will work on increasing his pace, but he did all that was asked of him today.”

“It's never easy on the back of a bad day. A few of our bowlers had bad days over the last few games. And that's the thing with T20 cricket, where you got to have thick skin in a short memory and must come out. We must execute all our plans to find ourselves in the playoffs at the back end of the tournament. We just have to be better at what we do.”

Lastly, our bowling coach was quizzed about a potential shake-up to the team structure and playing XI selection. His response was as calm and direct as the bowling in his heyday.

“We haven’t had time to discuss team changes or plans. When you are coming off a loss, the instant reaction is to consider the balance of the team. I think our batting order has done well in the tournament. About our bowling combination, who bowls and how they bowl is up for grabs, and fair enough, as we haven’t been up to the mark. We have a couple of days before the next game and some practice sessions to get stuck into. I’m sure the head coach and the captain, those conversations on who warrants a place in the team will eventually happen.”

We know this hurts. But Paltan, we’ve been there and we’ve done that. We know how to win, and we trust our boys to the fullest to turn this around quickly!