“My hard work is going in the right direction”: Shubman Gill

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Titans batter and Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 Orange Cap holder Shubman Gill feels he is going in the right direction with the amount of hard work he has been putting in.

Gill ended the IPL 2023 campaign with 890 runs in 17 matches with an average of 59.33 and a strike rate of 157.80.

He has defined the meaning of consistency throughout the season. The 23-year-old has struck three centuries with the bat and four half-centuries. His hard work and consistency were rewarded as he won the Most Valuable Player of IPL 2023.

He looked in form against Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2023 final on Monday. Gill struck 39(20) with the bat, before losing his wicket to Ravindra Jadeja. At a point in time, it seemed as if he was going to score yet another century with the technique that he has adopted this season.

“Means a lot, my hard work is going in the right direction. We couldn’t win the final, but it was one hell of a game. It is very important to start well and I started well, I was getting 40s and 50s and at the end of the tournament, I converted them into big ones. (On his six-hitting) I practised a lot, changed my technique for the death, and it has been good. All the hundreds were quite different, the SRH one was about control and MI one was knowing which bowlers to go after. I picked the right bowlers, and controlled the situation well,” Gill said after the match.

Coming to the match, a 67-run stand between Shubman Gill (39 in 20 balls) and Wriddhiman Saha provided GT with a solid start. Then came a 64-run stand between Saha and Sai Sudarshan. Saha was dismissed for 54 off 39 balls, which had five fours and a six.

Sudarshan smashed 96 in just 47 balls, with eight fours and six sixes. He stitched an 81-run stand for the third wicket with skipper Hardik Pandya, who scored 21 off 12 balls.

Matheesha Pathirana took 2/44 in four overs. Deepak Chahar and Ravindra Jadeja took a wicket each.

The match was delayed due to rain. After the resumption, CSK was set a revised target of 171 runs in 15 overs. Openers Devon Conway (47 in 25 balls) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (26 in 16 balls), provided a platform with a 74-run stand for the first wicket. Despite Ajinkya Rahane’s quickfire 27 in 13 balls and Ambati Rayadu’s 19 in eight balls, Mohit Sharma scripted a comeback for GT with his tight bowling. He also got Dhoni out for a golden duck.

CSK needed 13 runs in the final over. But Mohit could not defend it as Jadeja denied GT a win with a match-winning four on the final ball.

Mohit was the pick of the bowlers for GT, taking 3/36 in his four overs. Noor Ahmed (2/17) was also impressive with the ball.

Brief Scores: GT: 214/4 (Sai Sudharsan 96, Wriddhiman Saha 54, Matheesha Pathirana 2/44) lost to CSK: 171/5 in 15 overs (Devon Conway 47, Shivam Dube 32, Mohit Sharma 3/36).