IPL 2017, Report Card, GL: The Lions Who Squeaked

Gujarat Lions scored 208 against Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Thursday night, and lost. Granted, they were done in by two sensational knocks by Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson, but this was not a one-off when it came to defending totals. It was just the worst example in a series of matches where the Gujarat side failed to defend any score of 160 and above. All three of their wins came while chasing.

With a batting line-up which included Suresh Raina, Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch and Dwayne Smith on top of the order, it was a scary deal to bowl to GL. Even young Ishan Kishan got into the act.

But GL just could not defend. Any score was too little for their bowlers to bowl at, including the 200-plus score against DD.

Australia's Andrew Tye was in his elements, claiming five wickets including a hat-trick in his debut match and ended up with 12 wickets in 6 innings before he dislocated his shoulder and the GL attack collapsed.

The next name is Basil Thampi, at No, 20! While the Kerala fast bowler made a mark, especially towards the end of the league, the rest evidently were not in their elements.

GL paid for packing their side with all the batsmen they could and then finding themselves struggling on the bowling front.

Ravindra Jadeja, one of the best in the business, was not used properly. But then, when a side is losing so frequently, there can be many excuses.

The bowling was inexcusable. That ends the argument.