The Gujarat Titans endured their first loss of IPL 2025 after playing their inaugural game at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad against Punjab Kings. Punjab’s batting performance started after they won the toss as they achieved 243 runs by losing five wickets in twenty overs. Gujarat Titans finished their batting sequence with a result of 232 for 5 wickets. Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag strongly criticized the captaincy of Gujarat Titans’ Shubman Gill for their first IPL match in 2025.
Sehwag criticized Gill for his slow reflexes during the match after noting that the captain exhibited poor preparation as the main cause of Gujarat’s defeat. The expert observer criticized Mohammed Siraj’s management after the bowler received early replacement from the powerplay section.
Sehwag expressed his dissatisfaction with Gill’s captaincy by stating his belief that the youngster was unable to perform adequately as captain during their match. He wasn’t ready or active. They substituted Mohammed Siraj for Arshad Khan when the pacer maintained his batting strength resulting in 21 runs yielded during the over. The 21-costly runs shifted the match direction in Kolkata Knight Riders’ loss.
According to Sunil Gavaskar we discussed that Siraj should bowl three or four resulting overs if he showed good performances during the powerplay. The batsman should continue his good performance as there is no reason to take him out later. He got hit later anyway.”
Active leadership requires captains to identify strong bowling performances because such players deserve additional overs of responsibility.
Match Highlights
The high-scoring battle between the teams kept audiences on the edge until the very last ball when momentum shifted continuously. The Gujarat Titans experienced defeat at the hands of Punjab Kings in the last ball of the match. Punjab Kings started their inning by posting 243 runs after Shreyas Iyer delivered a game-high 97-runs from the batting order. The Gujarat Titans began their chase with domination but were on track to reach the target effortlessly during the first part of their match.
During the late stage of the match Vijay Kumar Vyshak managed to secure victory for his team through his tightly controlled bowling style. Through his accurate yorkers and pinpoint line and length he made Gujarat struggle to a total of 232 before Punjab Kings won by 11 runs.
