Mumbai Indians pacer Trent Boult refused to pin his side’s defeat to Gujarat Titans in an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match down to the black soil pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
“Good tactics from the opposition. If you’ve got an option to do that [play on a black soil pitch], it obviously makes sense. But I don’t think we’ll be using it as an excuse. There are players in our team who have played on all types of wickets.
I thought they scrapped their way to a good total and they showed us how to bowl on that wicket. So full credit to them,” said Boult at the post-match press conference.
The surface used for Saturday’s match was a different one from the one on which Titans suffered a defeat in their IPL 2025 opener to Punjab Kings, in a game which aggregated 475 runs.
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Titans skipper Shubman Gill though revealed that the decision to go with black soil for Saturday’s game was not a knee-jerk one, specifically targeting Mumbai Indians.
“We had decided to play on this wicket before we played the first match. We played the previous match on a red soil wicket as there was not enough time for us to prepare a black soil one.
So it was decided before we played the first match on that one and then we are going to play this match on a black soil wicket. So, it had nothing to do with the opposition,” said Gill after the game.
Titans’ win was set up by their bowlers, who managed to restrict MI to 160 for six in its chase. Gill believes a black soil pitch plays into his side’s strengths by bringing his bowlers into the equation.
“I think each team has their own strengths and a particular way they like to play cricket. I think this kind of wicket suits our batting and bowling strengths more than on the red soil.
The way the game is going, we are seeing more 250s and 240s. We have to give some sort of cushion for the bowlers so that there is something in it for them and the game feels equal,” added Gill.