Finally, into his 6th IPL season and after 86 games, Gujarat Titans (GT) opener Shubman Gill got to his maiden IPL century as he produced a masterclass in timing and placement on Monday at the Narendra Modi stadium against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Shubman Gill was scintillating in the powerplay – he reached his half-century in 22 balls with the help of 9 boundaries, none of them hit in disdain or arrogance, but simply relying on his gift of judging the length and placing it in between gaps.
Shubman Gill’s terrific knock included 13 fours and 1 six
He reached his century in 56 balls before getting out in the last over to Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 101 runs in 58 balls. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, incidentally, recorded his second IPL five-wicket haul as he took 3 wickets in the last over of GT’s innings. Despite Shubman Gill’s century, GT, who would be upset with their eventual total, couldn’t reach 200, and ended up with 189 on the board, which might also be enough against this misfiring SRH batting line-up that is also without Glenn Phillips.
Watch: Highlights of Shubman Gill’s maiden IPL century
Just when #EveryGameMatters, Sublime Gill scores a ton to remember at Ahmedabad🤩#GTvSRH #IPLonJioCinema #TATAIPL #IPL2023 | @gujarat_titans pic.twitter.com/f5yYAQC9o6
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) May 15, 2023
Yeh Gill maange 4 🔥😍#GTvSRH #IPLonJioCinema #TATAIPL #IPL2023 #EveryGameMatters | @gujarat_titans pic.twitter.com/22yCcZi5qn
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) May 15, 2023
Speaking in the mid-innings break, Bhuvneshwar Kumar said: “When we were 16 down, we thought if we keep them close to 200 it would be good, but restricting them to 189 was great. Till 19th over, the wicket looked good to me (laughs). When it came to the second over, it did not swing much. When I came back for the last 2 overs, I tried to use the dimensions. We were thinking to stop them close to 200. Batting unit will be confident to chase this down, especially after chasing more than 200 against Rajasthan. With those big hitters, you have to use those bigger boundaries. You have to back yourself. The moment Shubman got out, we knew they were 10 runs short.”
Earlier, SRH skipper Aiden Markram had won the toss and elected to field first.
Teams:
Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya(c), David Miller, Dasun Shanaka, Rahul Tewatia, Mohit Sharma, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram(c), Heinrich Klaasen(w), Abdul Samad, Sanvir Singh, Mayank Markande, Marco Jansen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, T Natarajan
Hardik Pandya: Yeah, it is a special initiative to support cancer patients. This is just our way of showing our support. We have played really good cricket. The standing in the table doesn’t matter that much, you have to play good cricket. When we started, we knew it would be a tricky year for us. The players have put up their hands in tough situations and put their hands up. It is a fresh wicket, we would have liked to field as well. We have a couple of forced changes. Shankar got hit by a ball in the net yesterday, Sai comes in. Shanaka makes his debut and also Yash Dayal is back.
Aiden Markram: We are gonna bowl first, looks like there is moisture on this wicket, something for the pacers to utilise. If things are meant to work out, it will work out. Guys have the permission to express themselves. We look forward to doing that. Trying to play really good cricket, up to our potential and abilities. We have been playing really good cricket but not getting over the line. Would like to pack a punch tonight. Marco Jansen comes in for Glenn Phillips.
