11 months ago
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Gujarat Titans became the first team to qualify for the playoffs of the ongoing IPL 2023 as they beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 34 runs on Monday, May 14 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
After being put into bat first by SRH captain Aiden Markram, Gujarat posted the score of 188/9 in their allotted 20 overs courtesy of a magnificent hundred by Shubman Gill (101 off 58). Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the pick of the bowlers for SRH as he finished his four-over spell with figures of 5/30.
In reply, SRH could only manage to reach 154/9 in their allotted 20 overs with no other batter other than Heinrich Klaasen (64 off 44) standing tall against GT's bowling. Mohammed Shami (4/20) and Mohit Sharma (4/28) picked up four wickets each for GT. Let's take a look at the talking points of the match:
Shubman Gill’s maiden IPL hundred
After failing to reach the three-figure mark against Lucknow Super Giants during Match 62, Shubman Gill finally brought up his maiden IPL hundred as he played a magnificent knock of 101 off 58 balls smashing 13 fours and a six in his innings.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s four-wicket over
At 186/5 after 19 overs, Gujarat Titans were looking for a strong finish in the final over of the innings to cross the 200-run mark. However, all of their hopes were crushed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar who bowled a splendid over where he picked three wickets and also inflicted a run-out. Gujarat could only score two runs from the over (one of which was a bye) and couldn’t even cross the 190-run mark in their innings.
Noor Ahmad's injury
During the 16th over of SRH’s innings, Ahmad copped a heavy blow on his right ankle as he failed to get out of the line of the ball hit straight back at him by Heinrich Klaasen on the fifth ball. The left-arm spinner was taken off the field immediately as Rahul Tewatia filled in for him to bowl the last ball. The extent of his injury is still unknown and GT camp would hope he recovers in time with the playoffs approaching.
Losing Skipper, Aiden Markram said:
We were in the game at the halfway mark but when you lose four wickets in the powerplay, it becomes difficult. (On their bowling) We were slightly off, to be honest. We've got high-class bowlers who can swing the ball. Shubman's innings was incredible and so did their number three. We stuck in there and credit goes to Bhuvi to show us how it's done. (On Klaasen) He's a great player and I'm very happy for him, the world can see the class and power he's got. The rest of us haven't assisted him. It's tough for him to be on the losing side after performing the way he has. (On their remaining two games) A lot of pride for us to play for. We'll try to give some opportunities if we're allowed to. It'll be nice to finish off the tournament in good spirits but unfortunately, we haven't been good enough in the tournament this year. When a team is one down in the backend, it can go either of the two ways. It was important to break the partnership and Bhuvi did that for us. He's been exceptional for us and Nattu as well.
Winning Skipper, Hardik Pandya said:
Very proud of the boys, two in two (making it to the playoffs twice in a row). The boys put their hands up and in challenging situations and we rightly deserve the playoff spot. There will be expectations and for me it was important to focus within the group. We ticked a lot of good boxes, we made a lot of errors but we were always there in the game and tried to stay consistent. Bowlers are very close to my heart. Sometimes batters take a lot of credit, for me I will always be a bowler's captain and ensure they get due credit they very much deserve.
Player of the Match, Shubman Gill (101 off 58) said:
I made my IPL debut against SRH and got my first hundred against them, so life has come a full circle. Hopefully many more to come. It's all about the bowlers and situation and I don't dwell much on my last innings. It is important to focus on the situation in front. The six off Abhishek Sharma was the most pleasing thing for me. I told him that if you bowl to me I'm gonna hit you for a six. (ICYMI: Gill and Abhishek Sharma open for Punjab in domestic T20 cricket).
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