This innings will be remembered for years: Former players hail Gill

New Delhi, May 27 (PTI) Shubman Gill’s electrifying hundred against Mumbai Indians in IPL Qualifier 2 was hailed by former cricketers with the legendary Sunil Gavaskar calling it an innings which will be remembered for the youngster’s ability to play textbook cricketing shots in a T20 format.

The 23-year-old from Punjab on Friday extended his purple patch with a 60-ball 129-run knock as GT beat MI by 62 runs to enter their second straight IPL final.

The Titans will take on Chennai Super Kings in the finals at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

“This innings of Gill will be remembered for years. In this knock, Gill forced opposition captain Rohit Sharma to change his strategy by targeting MI’s main bowlers,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

“During these matchless (un-matchable) innings, Gill kept his strike rate consistently good and kept his team free from pressure. Along with this, this innings will also be remembered for Gill’s ability to play cricketing shots in the T20 format.” Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh also lauded Gill for his clarity of thoughts at such a young age.

“Shubman Gill’s batting proves one thing that if your basics are right, and your thinking is clear, then runs will automatically flow out of your bat. The batting of Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill has proven that you don’t need to hit oblique shots to score runs.

“These two are representing different generations but their bats have yielded a lot of runs and all this has been possible due to clear thinking and sticking to the basics of cricket.” Former India pacer Irfan Pathan also hailed Gill for the way he targeted the MI bowlers.

“Years later when you’ll look back, you will remember this knock. If you look at the history of TATA IPL qualifier matches, you will hold this knock from Gill in high regard.

“It was completely different from what we have witnessed in the knockout stages of TATA IPL. The way Gill groomed this knock and the way he targeted MI’s main bowlers is commendable.” Former India batter Suresh Raina also heaped high praise on the young opener.

“The calmness we saw. In such a big match, body language is very important. The sixes he hit later in the match, ones we call pick-up shots. He hit one off Kartikeya, and after that, he realized that he can come into the line and just hit pick-up shots,” said Raina, who is part of JioCinema’s Expert panel.

“I loved his body language, his self-confidence, self-belief, and he’s gotten a habit of playing in big matches. Just look at Virat Kohli, as we saw last year with Jos Buttler. But the performance we saw tonight, whenever we have big games, he will perform as Virat, Rohit, and MS Dhoni have.” Appreciation also poured in from the cricket community, who took to social networking sites to lavish praise on Gill.

“His ability to identify moments and accelerate, with consistency, puts him in a class of his own. Also keep in mind, most of his games have been at Ahmedabad, one of the bigger grounds around. Well played Shubman,” wrote South Africa’s AB de Villiers on his twitter handle.

Former India opener Virender Sehwag tweeted: “What a player. 3rd hundred in 4 matches and some breathtaking shots. Amazing consistency and hunger, the kind of stuff big players do, cash in on the purple patch.” Calling Gill the next big thing in Indian cricket, former England skipper Michael Vaughan wrote: “Love watching @ShubmanGill Bat .. Like all high class players he makes it look so easy .. he is the next big thing in Indian cricket .. #IPL2023 #Sachin #Virat.”