Gavaskar has made his position clear: after the kind of upheaval GT’s side was put through, they were due the reserve day. The former India captain is of the opinion that with the Titans not making it to Ahmedabad until well past midnight ahead of the showpiece, Monday, June 1 was where the match should have been held.
Gavaskar’s fairness argument
In a chat with India Today, Gavaskar said the trouble they had was no small matter and called for the buffer to be used. “Rest is non-negotiable” at this point, he said, and you can only imagine the toll of an uneasy journey on a player, in head and body.
‘Make no mistake, they need to rest,’ Gavaskar said. ‘With a reserve day, we could have put it off to tomorrow and been a little fair to the Gujarat Titans.’
Asymmetric build-up to the final
You have to look at the circumstances. RCB made it to Ahmedabad on Tuesday, May 26, having put GT away in Qualifier 1, so they had the luxury of a few days to get their heads in order. For Gujarat, it was a different story; they had to come off the back of an emotional Qualifier 2, putting 219/3 up in 18.4 overs to chase 215.
Shubman Gill put them in a good spot with a 104 off 53 balls, turning what could have been a tense affair into some good momentum. But in terms of who had more in the tank, the edge was with the defending champions.
This is what the debate is about:
– Travel on the eve of the final was anything but smooth for GT
– RCB had a window to recover over several days
– There was a reserve day open on Monday
Late-night arrival after weather disruption
The leg from Mullanpur to Ahmedabad did not go as planned for GT because of the weather. They were supposed to be there in the afternoon but got held up, touching down at 10:45 pm on Saturday and not in their hotel till around the clock struck twelve.
That kind of not knowing your schedule throws a spanner in the works for recovery and sleep, Gavaskar pointed out. ‘You are left with some anxiousness when you don’t know when you are flying,’ he said, and before a decider like this, that adds up.
Even RCB see a slight edge
Rajat Patidar won’t deny it. ‘We had the time to rest after Qualifier 1, whereas GT are coming in hot from the second one,’ the RCB skipper said, though he is quick to add that with the calibre of both sides, it’s not a chasm.
Over at the GT end, the tone was one of resolve. At the toss on Sunday, Gill put it across that they were as ready as they could be. Assistant coach Parthiv Patel put it in perspective: you can’t let tiredness stand in the way of an IPL final.
‘The weather is something we can’t do much about. We just keep an eye on things,’ Patel said. ‘All we want to do is put in a performance and make our mark for the team.’
Recent battles shape perception
Qualifier 1 set the stage. Patidar’s 93* saw RCB post 254 – the most in an IPL playoff – and then their bowlers made short work of GT for a 92-run win. It gave Bengaluru a feeling of ownership in Ahmedabad.
But the ground has been kind to Gujarat as well. They have an edge over RCB here this season, by four wickets, thanks to a tight game where they kept the home side to 155 and ran them out in under 16 overs on April 30.
Then again, on April 24, it was the other way round. A fine hundred from Sai Sudharsan wasn’t enough to hold off half-centuries from Virat and Devdutt. So the record is a bit of a mixed bag.
What the decision signalled
The league has decided to stick to the plan and let the final run its course, even with a Monday reserve day in the offing. Gavaskar’s comments have put a finer point on the issue of welfare and balance when you have elements like the weather to contend with.
It leaves you to wonder: when a finalist is in disarray, is the reserve day a last option or a matter of being fair? For Gavaskar, it was a no-brainer. The Titans, in his eyes, should have had that extra day.
