Shubman Gill may have missed a well-deserved hundred against Punjab Kings on Friday night but his 96 runs off 59 balls ensured that the Gujrat Titans remained in the contest while chasing the target of 190. The match eventually boiled down to 19 needed off the last over and Rahul Tewatia’s consecutive sixes on the last 2 deliveries took GT past the finishing line in a thrilling finish.
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Speaking on the team’s performance in the match presentation ceremony, Gujarat’s skipper Hardik Pandya showered praises on Gill and lauded the batting unit for snatching the game away from the Punjab team.
Hailing Tewatia’s power-hitting abilities under pressure, Hardik said, “It was Kings’ game, I have sympathy for them. He (Gill) has been telling everybody that he is there. A lot of credit goes to Sai as well for that partnership. It kept us in the game.”
The all-rounder added with the so many ups and downs in the game, he has become neutral.
Gill played the role of an anchor while keeping the required run rate in control. After the fall of Matthew Wade in the fourth over, Gill got together with debutant Sai Sudarshan and stitched superb 101-run partnership for the second wicket.
The opener also put up a 38-run partnership with Hardik before getting dismissed at 96 in the 19th over. While the game appeared to be slipping away from the GT in the last over, Tewatia’s power-hitting kept the team’s unbeaten run alive.
Gill, who was signed by GT for Rs 8 crore, has proved his worth so far. After starting the season with a duck against Lucknow Super Giants, Gill made an impressive comeback to score two back-to-back fifties.
The 22-year-old scored 84 off just 46 balls in the previous outing against Delhi Capitals on Thursday taking his team to a total of 171 for 6 last Saturday. GT are slated to play against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday.
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