‘A bitter pill to swallow’- Miller opines on the loss of Titans to Kings

On May 3, Punjab Kings were clinical with their performances to end the 5-match winning streak of the Gujarat Titans at DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai. 

The move to bat first backfired heavily for Hardik Pandya, as Titans struggled throughout the innings, losing wickets in regular successions. The innings of 65 off 50 from Sai Sudharsan proved to be a saving grace for the team, which helped them post a respectable total of 143 runs. 

In reply, PBKS batters Shikhar Dhawan (62* off 53) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (40 off 28) had a good day at the office to string a delightful 87 run-stand. Then, the whirlwind knock of 30* off 10 from Liam Livingstone sealed the game for Punjab, with 4 overs to spare. 

After the match, the South African powerhouse David Miller spoke on their only 2nd loss in the ongoing season. He reckoned that all the players had been highly competitive, and the loss was a bitter pill to swallow for the team.

"Our team environment is calm. (It is a) very relaxed environment. (The) guys are training hard and (are) extremely competitive and, obviously today (Tuesday), was quite a bitter pill to swallow, with the result," Miller said at the press conference. 

The southpaw thinks this kind of performance is bound to be witnessed in a long tournament like IPL and hopes they will get back on track in the upcoming matches. 

"But that is going to happen through the campaign of an IPL, with so many games. So, hopefully, we got the bad game out the way," Protea batter added. 

In a total of 8 wins in the ongoing season, the Titans have secured victory by chasing on 6 occasions. This fixture was an experiment by the Hardik-led franchise to test the strength of the bowling unit to defend the scores. 

In their next league game, Gujarat Titans will be up against Mumbai Indians at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune, on May 6.