"Not only have they been winning, but they've been winning in style" - Shaun Pollock hails GT's performance ahead of Qualifier One
Former South African skipper Shaun Pollock praised the Gujarat Titans' (GT) for their incredible run over the last two seasons, referring to them as the Manchester City of the IPL.
GT will face off against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Qualifier 1 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday, May 23.
Speaking in a recent Cricbuzz interaction, Pollock said:
"We'll probably have to call them the Manchester City of the IPL at the moment. Look at the net run-rate, plus 0.8. Not only have they been winning, but they've been winning in style. They must go in with a lot of confidence. "
The Guarat Titans have had another incredible season, winning 10 of their 14 games and topping the points table for a second straight year.
They have been led by Shubman Gill with the bat, scoring 680 runs in the season and sitting second on the Orange Cap list. He has also scored back-to-back centuries in their last two matches against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) and the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), which resulted in victories for the Titans.
On the bowling front, GT has been led by the pace-spin duo of Mohammed Shami and Rashid Khan, with the pair sitting on top of the Purple Cap list with 24 wickets apiece.
"At some stage, they have to face reality that they could get knocked out" - Shaun Pollock warns GT ahead of the playoffs stage
Shaun Pollock warned the Gujarat Titans of the sudden spike in pressure at the knockout stage of the tournament despite their incredible run last season and so far this year.
GT qualified for the playoffs more than a week ago and have not been under pressure like the other three teams until the final league stage game.
The former South African all-rounder felt that the sudden shift mentally from a relaxed last week of the league stages to the extreme pressure of the knockouts could be the only thorn in GT's progress.
"I mean it's always a difficult part of the tournament now," Pollock said. "You think over the last ten days they've already qualified for the first playoff game and they haven't really had to deal with pressure. Then all of a sudden you go back and you go do or die. Not in the first game, but obviously in the second."
"So at some stage, they have to face reality that they could get knocked out," he continued. "And that's the only different environment or curveball that gets thrown into the equation, but for the rest of it they've been calm throughout the tournament and they've looked really good."
GT followed a similar path last season, finishing atop the points table and then defeating the Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 1 and the final to win the IPL title in their debut season.
The franchise will look to repeat as champions this season and become just the third team after the Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians to win the silverware in consecutive seasons.