Gujarat Titans Director of Cricket Vikram Solanki admitted that he “misjudged” the appropriate score on the Narendra Modi Stadium pitch which led to their five-wicket loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL 2026 final.
The Titans scored 155 for eight and RCB achieved the target in 18 overs to win two consecutive IPL titles on Sunday night.
“I think we probably miscalculated a little bit as to what score would be appropriate on that pitch. I don’t think it was a 200-plus pitch,” Solanki said in the post-match press conference.
“If we had got around that 180, I think it would have been challenging for them to chase down the target,” he said.
Solanki lamented that GT’s score of 155 for eight in the IPL final was at least 25 runs short of a defendable target.
“I think we probably fell behind by 20-25 runs, but the fight and hunger the players showed to bring the game to the end was extraordinary.
“We had chances to challenge RCB in parts but they were the better side today and I think it’s as simple as that,” he said.
But the defeat in the title match and GT’s busy schedule in the last few days did not stop Solanki from giving due credit to RCB.
GT played Qualifier 2 in Dharamshala on Friday, before their trip to Ahmedabad on Saturday was delayed due to bad weather.
“As far as our campaign is concerned, as a group we are extremely proud of what we have achieved, there is no doubt that we would love to take a step forward.
“But the fact is that RCB have beaten us and we should be strong enough and hold our heads high, proud of the campaign we have had, but also be gracious enough to congratulate RCB,” he said.
Solanki lauded senior RCB batsman Virat Kohli for playing another match-winning innings, this time scoring an unbeaten 75 off 42 balls.
“Virat We are all fortunate to see good players playing and Virat is an extraordinary player. He played a brilliant innings for his team. I am probably not celebrating that innings right now.”
“Virat obviously did very well in chasing and guiding the target,” he said.