Mohali (Punjab) [India], April 14 : Defending champions Gujarat Titans secured their third win of the 2023 IPL as they defeated Punjab Kings by 6 wickets after successfully chasing down the target of 154 runs.
Batting first, the Kings were led by Matt Short's 36 runs (24b, 6x4, 1x6) and cameos from Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Sam Curran, and Shahrukh Khan. Gujarat's Mohit Sharma who played his first match since 2020 starred with the ball with a spell of 2/18 and was adjudged the Player of the Match. The Titans' run-chase was made easy with Shubman Gill smashing 67 runs (49b, 7x4, 1x6) in another impressive showing for the 23-year-old.
Shubman Gill's 67 runs helped Gujarat seal the win, even though he was bowled out in the final over by Sam Curran. Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra was thoroughly entertained by Gill's creative shotmaking, "You'll see pure cricket shots from him. The pitch was nice, no doubt about that. You're not chasing a large total, that's also true. Whenever you see him, you think being strong technically will also help you in T20 cricket. It liberates you. It doesn't box you in, instead, it gives you freedom. You can succeed by playing perfect cricket, we've seen this from Virat Kohli and now we're seeing him do it too."
Mohit Sharma was declared the Player of the Match for just conceding 18 runs in four overs while picking up two wickets. Former India Test captain l Kumble praised Sharma for his efforts on JioCinema, "He was prepared. He has enough variations to manage within four overs and he was excellent. After the last game, where they had to find an experienced bowler to bowl at the death, they realized it was Mohit Sharma. It's wonderful to see him pick up Man of the Match."
Kagiso Rabada picked up his 100th wicket in the IPL when he took the wicket of Wriddhiman Saha in the fifth over. England's world cup winning captain Eoin Morgan was full of praise for the South African fast bowler on JioCinema, "You don't need to watch much cricket to know who Kagiso Rabada is, he brings everything that you want particularly as an international, overseas pick for an IPL team. His ability to swing the ball and nip it around or flaunt his accuracy is always on point."
Shubman Gill's efforts were strong enough for Aakash Chopra to make a case for him to be awarded the Player of the Match after it was given to teammate Mohit Sharma, "If I could make the decision to award the Player of the Match, I would have given it to Shubman Gill. He's the only person to hit a half-century. We can talk about how flat of a pitch it was as much as we want, we didn't see 200 runs scored nor did we see 150 runs chased down easily. If the match result says the bowlers enjoyed more than the batters, our perception doesn't matter. Both teams played the match and only one player made a half-century, he should be awarded Man of the Match."
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