Mullanpur (Punjab) [India], April 1 (ANI): Gujarat Titans (GT) assistant coach Parthiv Patel attributed the team's narrow defeat against Punjab Kings (PBKS) to a combination of changing pitch conditions and clever bowling from the hosts in the final overs.

A composed 72* from Cooper Connolly helped Punjab Kings survive a scary spell from pacer Prasidh Krishna, who secured a three-wicket haul in his side's Gujarat Titans loss in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 opener at Mullanpur on Tuesday.

'The match went to the 20th over. A wicket here or there, and maybe even 160 runs wouldn't have been chased. Due to the rain, the dry pitch started to play better. The ball was skidding and coming onto the bat nicely, and the outfield also became a bit wet. If everything had gone our way, maybe we could have won this match,' Patel said during the post-match press conference.

The Gujarat assistant coach also praised PBKS for their strategic execution in the final overs, noting the composure of their bowlers under pressure. 'As I said, the Punjab bowlers, the way they bowled in the final overs, PBKS bowled cleverly towards the end,' he added.

When Patel was asked about the ideal first innings total in modern-day T20 cricket, the Gujarat assistant coach emphasised that in modern T20s, the ultimate goal is winning the match, rather than targeting a specific first innings total.

'Whichever match gives us two points, we would prefer that. It doesn't matter whether it's a 200-game or a 140 chasing-down game. Yeah, obviously, there was a contest here without a doubt, a 160-game contest. But it depends, the conditions make a big difference in this T20 format. Even in the World Cup, we saw India could not chase down 180 against South Africa and then the flat wicket came and India scored 250 in the final. So, the condition makes a big difference. There is no doubt about it. And as long as everyone's entertained and as long as we're on the winning side, it doesn't matter much.' Parthiv said.

Brief Scores: Gujarat Titans: 162/6 (Jos Buttler 39, Shubman Gill 38, Vijaykumar Vyshak 3/34) vs Punjab Kings: 165/7 in 19.1 overs (Cooper Connolly 72*, Prabhsimran Singh 37, Prasidh Krishna 3/29). (ANI)