How Gujarat Titans Have Embodied the Techniques of Conventional Batting in IPL 2025

In IPL 2025, when the majority of teams have chosen to play very aggressive strategies at the outset, Gujarat Titans (GT) have played a conventional approach to batting. Such a tactic of playing good innings with a focus on wicket conservation in the powerplay has been very lucrative. Although there is so much pressure on teams to open the proceedings through aggressive batting, GT has sent out a message by focusing on content over form, particularly at the top-order.

Examining the Gujarat Titans' batting order, one sees Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, and Jos Buttler as the pillars holding the team's batting together. The three collectively have 11 half-centuries in eight games alone and have run a massive 73.08% of the total runs for the team. This is testimonial to their contribution to the team's success. Their steady batting has enabled the team to concentrate on sustaining a smooth run-rate without jeopardizing wickets early on, particularly in the first dozen overs of the game. That has put them in dominant positions through the middle overs, and this has made them victorious to a significant extent.

It's amazing how enormously conservative GT have played in their approach of attack. They've targeted just 51.8% of the deliveries within the first six overs of IPL 2025, which is the lowest among all teams. However, they have been scoring at a rate as high as this, averaging 73.16 runs per wicket within this period. They have been putting in effort to turn the strike and make runs, which can be assessed from their miniscule dot-ball percentage of only 32.2%. This is where franchises such as Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have taken a much riskier route in trying 73.8% of deliveries with little success, so far.

Another interesting part of GT's batting strategy is how they are able to shift gears between phases of the game. While in the powerplay, they have been defensive but effective. For instance, while they played against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), GT had 45/0 in the powerplay with a mere 50% of their shots being attacking ones. This balance of attack-defense was the secret to their successful completion of innings while reducing the risk element. In contrast, KKR, having attacked 67.5% of their balls, had reached the same score with the loss of two wickets. This is a testament to the fact that GT's middle-order batsmen Gill and Sudharsan have shown high technical skills in playing the correct shots at the correct time.

In middle overs, GT has performed well in putting pressure on the bowlers while scoring quickly. They have the highest average and strike rate against spin in IPL 2025, which shows their dominance over spin bowlers. Against KKR in a match, even though there was a silence spell by Moeen Ali during the powerplay, the spinners couldn't prevent GT's middle-order batsmen from scoring 94 runs while losing just one wicket in the middle overs. The run rate came in handy in laying the groundwork for scoring a massive total, as is the case with how GT has been scoring so heavily against spin and pace both in a match.

Even more remarkable, though, is how GT's batting order has been evenly distributed. While the top three have been the ones to turn out consistently, others like Sherfane Rutherford, Washington Sundar, Shahrukh Khan, and Rahul Tewatia have also contributed generously. Rutherford, specifically, has been a reliable player at No. 4 with 201 runs at a strike rate of 40.4 and 155.81. GT's finishing ability of 11.67 runs per over scoring rate in the last overs is one of the best in the tournament after DC and RCB. It has been a key strength for them in thriller situations.

On team performance in general, GT leads the IPL 2025 stats with the highest batting average of 40.97 and the best strike rate of 159.45. These statistics depict their multi-dimensional batting style, which has enabled them to be consistently top of the points table. Such old-school yet efficient strategy has served them to build games on solid foundations, establish partnerships through middle overs, and finish off in attacking moods.

As a whole, the Gujarat Titans' policy of accepting old batting methods along with an attitude towards constant partnerships and steering clear of unnecessary risks has made them stand apart in IPL 2025. Their initial three batsmen at the opening position have been excellent, and their policy of keeping an even balance of attack and defense has made them the rulers of the game. By continuing to adhere to this strategy, GT has proved that old-fashioned ways are still extremely effective in today's cricket.