At the Narendra Modi Stadium, there was heavy dew when GT came out to defend 168 against MI, which meant the bowlers faced challenges in gripping the ball. But with R. Sai Kishore trapping Rohit Sharma lbw, Rashid Khan conceding only three runs in the 17th over and Mohit Sharma taking out Dewald Brevis and Tim David put the pressure back on Mumbai Indians.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
With 36 runs needed from the last three overs, Spencer Johnson took out Tilak Varma and Gerald Coetzee, before Hardik Pandya fell in the final over to Umesh Yadav as GT got their IPL 2024 campaign off to a winning start.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWhat they did in Sunday\u2019s game against MI impressed me a lot because before the tournament, they had a setback as Shami was not available for this season and they had to make the entry for a newcomer. Omarzai has fitted in very well with his seam position in the conditions, where he was a little bit helpful with the new ball.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThough Spencer Johnson went for runs in the first few overs, he came back to bowl that phenomenal over in the end. Bowling attacks become very important when it comes to the IPL this season, as bowlers are winning matches for their teams. This trend will continue and GT adapted to the conditions very well, where it is not easy to bowl in that situation.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cRashid Khan phenomenally managed with his experience and (I) was very impressed with Sai Kishore, who got out Rohit Sharma with an outstanding delivery, which was the turning point for me. From there, Mohit Sharma came in and did his tricks, but most importantly, they adapted to the conditions really well.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThey didn\u2019t bowl a yorker in the back end of the overs; they just bowled short to ensure the batters go after the bowling with horizontal shots and that was very phenomenal to watch,\u201d said Balaji while replying to an IANS query in the \u2018Star Sports Press Room\u2019 virtual interaction on Monday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sunday\u2019s match also marked Afghanistan seam-bowling all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai\u2019s IPL debut, and he did his part by making 17 with the bat and took 2-27, hinting that he is being tipped to fill in the gap at GT left by Hardik\u2019s move to MI, felt former Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Tom Moody.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no doubt that Omarzai had a really good start to his campaign. It's interesting that the Gujarat Titans were looking to get him to fill that Hardik Pandya role. I probably believe batting at number four is a bit of two slots higher for him \u2013 he\u2019s sort of an impact player at the back end of the order.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cFor him to take the new ball ahead of Spencer Johnson also surprised me. Spencer Johnson is a specialist new-ball bowler, so to delay his deployment into the bowling attack \u2013 around tenth or eleventh over \u2013 was a surprise to me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
GT\u2019s next match will be against defending champions Chennai Super Kings at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday and Balaji, CSK\u2019s former bowling coach, thinks it will be a good headache for them to fit in Matheesha Pathirana, especially after Mustafizur Rahman shone with a four-fer in the tournament opener win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cObviously, for a new entrant like Mustafizur to perform on the very first game was phenomenal. But what Pathirana did was he provided the cushion CSK wanted for a long time especially after Bravo, because he used to provide that cushion during the death overs to CSK.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cPathirana straightaway got fit into that role and it probably depends on how well new ball bowlers bowl according to that. Probably Pathirana might have to wait because Mustafizur can bowl in the death and the start as well. So probably in that aspect, I feel it\u2019s a good headache to have when you have a fit Pathirana into the side and apart from that yes Shardul Thakur has done phenomenally well in the last 3-4 matches in the domestic season.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cHe has got runs and at the same time, he\u2019s been bowling phenomenally it\u2019s very difficult to choose. I think it\u2019s the captain who has to have the trust and also kind of comfort with the bowler\u2019s perspective, so Ruturaj will have to get some understanding and time. We have seen what MS Dhoni did with Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur and Pathirana.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cNow it\u2019s a time where Ruturaj (Gaikwad) has to step in and take the advice and go with the gut feeling he has. Whatever happened in the first game helped them to win the game they will not mix and match and will continue the same,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2024\/03\/ipl-2024-gt-adapted-to-conditions-very-well-says-balaji-on-their-death-over-bowling-masterclass-v-mi.JPG", "alt_img": "IPL 2024: GT adapted to conditions very well, says Balaji on their death-over bowling masterclass v ", "alt_title": "Ahmedabad: IPL 2024 T20 cricket match between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians at Narendra Modi Sta", "image1": null, "video": null, "seo_title": "IPL 2024: GT Adapted To Conditions Very Well, Says Balaji On Their Death-over Bowling Masterclass V MI On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "IPL 2024: GT Adapted To Conditions Very Well, Says Balaji On Their Death-over Bowling Masterclass V MI, Star Sports Press Room: With Mumbai Indians needing 42 off the last six overs with seven wickets in hand, Gujarat.", "seo_keywords": "Gujarat Titans, Mumbai Indians, IANS Photos, New Delhi, With Mumbai Indians, Indian Premier League, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Narendra Modi Stadium, Sai Kishore, Rohit Sharma, Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Tim David, Spencer Johnson, Tilak Varma", "tag": "", "tagging": "Gujarat Titans, Mumbai Indians, IANS Photos, New Delhi, With Mumbai Indians, Indian Premier League, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Narendra Modi Stadium, Sai Kishore, Rohit Sharma, Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Tim David, Spencer Johnson, Tilak Varma", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": null, "slug": "ipl-2024-gt-adapted-to-conditions-very-well-says-balaji-on-their-death-over-bowling-masterclass-v-mi", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "0", "ians_date": null, "ians_time": null, "server_time": null, "trash": "0", "view_count": "1172", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "1", "created": "2024-03-25 22:32:03", "updated": "2024-03-25 22:32:03", "img_from": "Image Source: IANS", "img_source": null, "schedule_publish": null, "news_keywords": "Gujarat Titans, Mumbai Indians, IANS Photos, New Delhi, With Mumbai Indians, Indian Premier League, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Narendra Modi Stadium, Sai Kishore, Rohit Sharma, Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Tim David, Spencer Johnson, Tilak Varma", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "1", "google_feed": "1", "read_more": "0", "posted_by": "23", "jio_date": "2024-03-25 22:32:03", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "1", "google_date": null, "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": null, "article_content_type": null, "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/ipl-2024-gt-adapted-to-conditions-very-well-says-balaji-on-their-death-over-bowling-masterclass-v-mi-141156" }