The familiar script played out yet again in this edition of the IPL as Gujarat Titans’ brittle middle-order caved in without a fight against the Mumbai Indians.

On a day when Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler failed to fire, none of the remaining Titans batters showed the resilience required in a demanding chase. The collective failure prompted batting coach Matthew Hayden to label it a “horrible day” for his side.

The most worrying aspect wasn’t just the defeat, but the manner of it. The Titans couldn’t even bat out their 20 overs, as their innings rapidly unravelled.

The result also dealt a blow to their Net Run Rate and reignited concerns over an under-performing middle-order comprising Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan.

Only Washington managed to score at a brisk rate, while Phillips and Tewatia struggled to get going and their strike rates were well below the demands of modern T20 cricket. “The middle order was undoubtedly exposed,” Hayden admitted, pointing to the early damage in the PowerPlay.

“The thing about the PowerPlays is that you can’t win from there, especially in a run chase, but you can definitely lose it. And we lost it in the PowerPlay,” Hayden said.

The early dismissals of Sai Sudharsan, Buttler and Gill left the middle order with too much to do — a scenario Hayden believes the side must avoid. He stressed that players like Tewatia and Shahrukh are built for impact, not accumulation, and sending them in too early only adds pressure.

So far, Shahrukh has scored 35 runs, while Tewatia has chipped in with just 49 runs. “We are putting a lot of pressure on the middle-order. When you look at how the middle-order operates, it’s vastly different from how the top three handle those preparations. They are batting for impact,” Hayden said.

Published on Apr 21, 2026