Kevin Pietersen finds shades of Shane Warne’s Rajasthan Royals in the Gujarat Titans’ performance this year. IPL debutants Titans, who entered the tournament as underdogs, have stunned all, winning eight of the nine matches they have played so far.

Pietersen says the Titans have won not because they have the strongest team, but because of their “great mentality”. “At the moment, it looks like Gujarat Titans are going to be difficult to stop in the IPL. I didn’t see them being at the top of the table when I first saw their squad, but they are on a roll,” Pietersen wrote for Betway.

“It reminds me of Rajasthan Royals when they won the title under Shane Warne in 2008 — they weren’t the best side on paper but everybody knew what they were doing and they had a great mentality,” he added.

Hardik Pandya’s team have seen multiple players turn match-winners and Pietersen thinks that’s because they have a “winning mentality”.

“They are consistently finding ways to win, whether from a good, middling or bad position in games. When you have that winning mentality, it becomes very difficult to break.

“They’re not inhibited. They’re just doing what feels right instinctively. Look at Rashid Khan, when he got them over the line against Sunrisers Hyderabad the other night… He just had this positive attitude and was able to pull it off.”

The Royals, on Saturday, dedicated their match against Mumbai Indians to Warne, who shockingly passed away earlier this year.

The Royals posted a video of head coach Kumar Sangakkara addressing the team in a pre-match talk, where he speaks of Warne. “It’s a special day… because we are giving a tribute to Warnie. It is important that we pay our respects to one of the greatest cricketers to have played the game,” the Sri Lankan said.

(Written with agency inputs)