Shubman Gill braves ankle injury, guides Gujarat Titans to 229 total with masterful 84

Shubman Gill has been ultra-consistent in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. The Gujarat Titans (GT) captain has crossed the 30-run mark seven times in ten innings. Only Heinrich Klaasen can catch this level of consistency. However, like Gill, Klaasen doesn’t have to face the new ball and often gets a great base to build upon.

The new powerplay method

However, the 84-run knock against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur was something else. Since the last couple of games, Gill has taken the onus of being the aggressor in the powerplay. The trend in IPL 2026 has been clear: dominate the powerplay to set up the match.

Gill has realised that Gujarat needs to maximise the powerplay with the bat. He had scored 43 (18) against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, killing the 156-run chase in the first 6 overs. He followed the same pattern against RR. Gill was 32 off 15, a strike rate of 213.33, after the powerplay.

Shubman Gill braves ankle injury

He slowed a touch afterwards, which coincided with an ankle injury on the last ball of the 9th over. Attempting a quick single, he hurt himself. The physio came out and applied the magic spray, and after a brief delay, Gill continued. However, it was clear that he wasn’t 100%.

Although he and Sai Sudharsan continued to run hard, Gill was in pain. He was handed a reprieve on 54 as Shimron Hetmyer palmed the ball over the boundary. Gill knew that he couldn’t just follow his template and started to go off. He pulled out the reverse sweep, tried to muscle the ball, and in a bid to take Gujarat to a mammoth total, holed out at 84.

His strike rate of 190.91 was the second highest for Gujarat, despite Washington Sundar scoring 37 off 20. It was his knock that set the innings, and Rahul Tewatia’s cameo of 14 off 4 guided them to 229.

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