IPL: Shubman Gill makes Gujarat Titans breathe easy
Ahmedabad, March 31
Shubman Gill eclipsed Ruturaj Gaikwad’s high-quality knock with a dazzling half-century as Gujarat Titans began their title defence with a convincing five-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in the IPL opener here today.
9 Gujarat Titans have won nine of the 10 matches while chasing in the IPL. Eight of those nine wins were completed in the last over, with Rahul Tewatia scoring the winning runs in four matches.
Gaikwad was classy in his 92 off 50 balls before Gujarat pulled things back in the middle overs to limit Chennai to 178/7 after opting to bowl first in front of a near capacity crowd at the world’s largest cricket stadium here.
In the form of his life over the past three months, Gill played some jaw-dropping strokes in his 63 off 36 balls to set up a fine win for the home team in 19.2 overs.
Another 15-20 runs would have been good. We all know there would be a little bit of dew. Also it was a 7.30pm start so the ball holds on a little early on. Also we could have batted properly in the middle overs as opposed to trying to muscle the ball. MS Dhoni, CSK Captain
I am obviously very happy, but we did put ourselves in a difficult position. We were very happy with 178 because at one point they looked like going past 200. But we kept getting wickets. Having the impact rule makes my job very difficult. Hardik Pandya, GT Captain
So happy to get the Man of the Match. Gives me so much of energy for the rest of the competition. Bowling to the leftie was hard but the more I keep it tight, it is better. Rashid Khan, Man of the match
Gill’s opening partner Wriddhiman Saha showed he’s still got it as he smashed a couple of sixes in his 16-ball 25 that got Gujarat going in the chase.
Gill’s best shot of the innings was the back foot punch off Chennai Impact Player Tushar Deshpande and he followed with a pick up shot over the midwicket.
Gujarat’s Impact Player Sai Sudharsan, who was used in place of an injured Kane Williamson, contributed with 22 off 17 balls.
When Gill departed, Gujarat needed 41 off the last five overs but Chennai managed to take the game down to the wire. It needed a cameo from Rashid Khan (10 not out) to settle Gujarat’s nerves.
Earlier, it was a display of effortless hitting from Gaikwad, who relied on his lofted drives over extra cover and crisp pull shots to collect nine sixes. Apart from Gaikwad, the only other batter to put Gujarat under pressure was Moeen Ali, who came up with a 17-ball 23.
Brief scores: CSK: 178/7 in 20 overs (Gaikwad 92, Ali 23; Khan 2/26, Shami 2/29); GT: 182/5 in 19.2 overs (Gill 63; Hangargekar 3/36). — PTI
Warrier is Bumrah’s replacement
Mumbai: Mumbai Indians today replaced injured pacer Jasprit Bumrah with Sandeep Warrier for the 2023 Indian Premier League. Bumrah was ruled out of the entire tournament due to a back injury. “Sandeep Warrier, right-arm fast bowler, will join the Mumbai Indians squad as a replacement player for Jasprit Bumrah. Sandeep, who debuted for India in 2021, is an experienced player in the domestic circuit having played over 200 games with 69 of them in T20 format, taking 362 wickets in his career so far across formats,” MI said in a statement. PTI
Injury puts RCB’s Hazlewood on hold
Melbourne: Set to miss at least the first leg of the IPL due to a heel problem, Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood would reach India by April 14 but would take another week to be match-fit. While Hazlewood will miss at least seven games, his compatriot Glenn Maxwell is doubtful for the RCB’s opening match against Mumbai Indians on April 2 in Bengaluru as he is yet to fully regain strength after a leg fracture. “Everything is ticking along according to plan, so I’ll be heading over on the 14th (of April) depending on how the next two weeks go,” Hazlewood said.
