'We have made rookie mistakes' - GT skipper Hardik Pandya

With Gujarat Titans (GT) at one stage riding on an eight-match winning streak, it seemed impossible to stop their victory chariot. However, the Indian Premier League (IPL) newcomers have been way off the radar in their last two games, suffering successive defeats at the hands of Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Mumbai Indians (MI), respectively.

Although the Titans are still the table-toppers, their previous few games have indicated major shortcomings. Contrary to the first half of the tournament, GT have lacked match-winners, especially in the batting department.

Last night, it was a matter of nine runs to chase in the final over. But the Hardik Pandya-led outfit was unsuccessful in the meagre task and hence, lost the game against Mumbai Indians by five runs.

GT captain Hardik Pandya did not mince his words after losing the crucial encounter and blamed the side's batters for the defeat against MI. Pandya opined on the last over choke, adding that the two run-outs, one of which involved himself, led to the turning point in the match.

"On any day, we'd take 9 off the last over. The two run-outs cost us the game. I think batters let us down. In T20s, you can't lose back-to-back games," Pandya said as quoted by ANI.

"No blame games as we have cleared such games. We have made rookie mistakes which cost us this one. We played good cricket for 19.2 overs in our innings, one or two hits would have made a difference. We should not have let it come down to the last over," he added.

While Rohit Sharma and Co. were cruising to a 200-run total, Rashid Khan's 2-24 forced the opposition to settle for just 177. The 28-year-old all-rounder lauded the bowlers' effort as they helped GT come back into the game after the initial onslaught, led by Rohit and Ishan Kishan.

"We played good cricket for 19.2 overs in our innings, one or two hits would have made a difference. We should not have let it come down to the last over. I think bowlers did a fantastic job by putting pressure and pulling it back to 170, as they were on the way to 200," Hardik signed off.

Gujarat Titans will next face-off Lucknow Super Giants on May 10 at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune.