IPL 2022: We needed to come out of our comfort zone, says Hardik Pandya on Gujarat Titans' decision to bat first against Punjab Kings

Gujarat Titans needed to do to get out of their comfort zone ahead of the bigger battles that await them in their debut Indian Premier League season, said skipper Hardik Pandya. Gujarat, who lead the IPL points table with eight wins from 10 games and are set to reach the playoffs, lost to Punjab by eight wickets here on Tuesday. Gujarat struggled to 143 for eight, which Punjab chased down in 16 overs.

Read AlsoIPL 2022, GT vs PBKS: Punjab Kings beat Gujarat Titans to boost playoff hopes

Kagiso Rabada took 4/33 as the Punjab Kings beat the first-place Gujarat Titans by eight wickets. Rabada's spell ensured Gujarat produced a sub-par batting performance on a two-paced DY Patil Stadium pitch. The Titans finished with only 143/8 in 20 overs. In reply, Shikhar Dhawan scored 62 not out

"We weren't even close to a par score, 170 would have been ideal; but we kept losing wickets regularly and never came anywhere near it. I backed ourselves with the bat. Batting first wasn't a wrong call, we needed to come out of our comfort zone," said Hardik. "We have chased well in this tournament. If required (later in the tournament), we had to know how to set targets. This is part of a learning curve, but this is all about learning to come out of our own comfort zone. "We were always talking about getting better even when we were winning. We would talk about things that didn't go our way today and would look to come back better in the coming games." Punjab skipper Mayank Agarwal lauded his team after the much-needed win. He decided to drop himself down the order to accommodate Jonny Bairstow at the top alongside Shikhar Dhawan.

Explaining the move, he said: "We are trying to get the best out of Jonny. He's done well opening. I said, 'It's