Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], May 11 (ANI): Former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith said Gujarat Titans’ (GT) 35-run win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Friday was a big victory for the hosts.
Gill played a 104-run knock from 55 balls at a strike rate of 189.09. He hammered 9 fours and 6 sixes during his time on the crease.
Speaking to JioCinema, Smith said GT Shubman Gill is not having the best season in the IPL 2024 but he gave his best against CSK. He further added everyone wants to see this form of Gill in the upcoming matches of the tournament.
“He is not having the best of seasons, but he showed his best tonight. He picked up straight away, there was a different attitude with the bat today. You could get a sense of his intent when he went down the wicket and hit Santner for a four down the ground in the very first over,” Smith was quoted in a release from JioCinema as saying.
“This is the Shubman Gill we want to see day in and day out. Ultimately, for the competition, this is a hell of a win for GT because it really does bunch everybody now and there are a lot of teams at 12 points now,” he added.
Summarizing the match, CSK elected to field first after winning the toss. Sudarshan (103 in 51 balls, with five fours and seven sixes) and Gill (104 in 55 balls, with nine fours and six sixes) put on a 210-run opening partnership, which powered GT to 231/3 in their 20 overs.
Tushar Deshpande (2/33) was the pick of the bowlers for CSK.
In the run-chase, CSK was reduced to 10/3. Half-centuries from Daryl Mitchell (63 in 34 balls, with seven fours and three sixes) and Moeen Ali (56 in 36 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) temporarily posed a threat to GT with a 109-run partnership. But after that, CSK lost wickets regularly and was restricted to 196/8 in their 20 overs.
Mohit Sharma (3/31) and Rashid Khan (2/38) were among the top bowlers for GT.
Gill was given the ‘Player of the Match’ award. (ANI)
