GT's nightmare did not end with IPL final defeat, players briefly stranded after team bus breakdown
After their IPL final loss, Gujarat Titans players and staff evacuated their bus due to a breakdown
After their IPL final loss, Gujarat Titans players and staff evacuated their bus due to a breakdown
After their IPL final loss, Gujarat Titans players and staff evacuated their bus due to a breakdown
As if the IPL final defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru was not enough, the Gujarat Titans were hit by another scare on Sunday night when players and support staff had to evacuate their team bus after it broke down while returning to the hotel.
A short circuit reportedly triggered the breakdown, causing smoke to spread inside parts of the vehicle. According to PTI, all members of the travelling party were safe and unharmed.
The team was left waiting by the roadside for a brief period before an alternative bus was arranged to ferry them back to the hotel.
The incident capped a miserable evening for the team, who had earlier suffered a five-wicket defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL final on Sunday.
It also came at the end of a demanding travel schedule for the franchise. Gujarat had travelled from Dharamsala to Mullanpur on May 27 ahead of their Qualifier 2 clash against Rajasthan Royals on May 29. Their planned return to Ahmedabad on May 30 was significantly delayed due to adverse weather conditions in Mullanpur, with the squad eventually arriving at their home base only on Saturday evening.
When asked whether fatigue may have contributed to the team's underwhelming performance in the final, Gujarat Titans Director of Cricket Vikram Solanki refused to use it as an excuse. "I don't want to take away from the fact that RCB have won by simply stating that we've had this number of games in these short days and we're fatigued. That's not really what we're about," Solanki said after the match.
He acknowledged that Gujarat's total of 155/8 was below par but praised his side's efforts with the ball. "Admittedly, it was a below-par total, but they showed great fight to try and defend it. We will assess what we might have done differently, that's a given. But you also have to accept that the opposition played very well," he added.