IPL 2023: Shubman Gill's return to form proves costly for MI as GT triumphs; netizens entertained
IPL 2023: Gujarat Titans grounded Mumbai Indians by 55 runs on Tuesday, thanks to Shubman Gill's return to form, who played a pleasant knock of a 34-ball 56, while netizens were captivated by the same.
FollowIt was a ruthless performance across fronts for defending champion Gujarat Titans (GT) in Match 35 of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) against record former five-time champion Mumbai Indians (MI) at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. The hosts were heavily aided by the return to form of opener Shubman Gill, who played a satisfying knock of a 34-ball 56, taking the side up to the second spot, besides leaving the netizens pleasured, as the visitors were mauled by 55 runs.
Winning the toss, MI opted to bowl, as GT lost opener Wriddhiman Saha (4) to pacer Arjun Tendulkar in the third over of the PowerPlay (PP), with just 12 runs on the board. However, Gill and skipper Hardik Pandya (13) added 38 for the third wicket before the latter departed to veteran leg-spinner Piyush Chawla in the seventh.
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However, Gujarat was still not bothered, as Gill and Vijay Shankar (19) put on 41 more for the third wicket before the former was dismissed by Chawla in the 12th, having struck his 17th IPL 50. Down to 101/4 by the 13th, David Miller (46) and Abhinav Manohar (42) added 71 for the fifth wicket, sending the Mumbai bowlers onto the backfoot, besides setting the stage for a convincing total.
In the 19th, Manohar fell to pacer Riley Meredith, while Miller and Rahul Tewatia (20) added 35 more for the sixth wicket. The former was sent packing by speedster Jason Behrendorff in the final over, with the Titans finishing on a challenging total of 207/6, their highest total in the IPL to date.
For the Mumbai Indians, Chawla bagged a couple, whereas Tendulkar was exceedingly economical. Before the MI chase, GT replaced Gill with pacer Josh Little. The visitors lost skipper Rohit Sharma (2) in the second over of the PP to pacer Pandya with four runs on the board. Then, fellow opener Ishan Kishan (13) and Cameron Green (33) added 39 for the second wicket before the former departed to leg-spinner Rashid Khan in the eighth.
After that, Mumbai's chase suffered a significant setback. It was down to 59/5 by the 11th before Suryakumar Yadav (23) and Nehal Wadhera (40) added 31 for the sixth, keeping the side's faint hopes alive. However, chinaman Noor Ahmad removed the former to break the backbone of the Mumbai Indians' chase.
Wadhera and Chawla (18) attempted to provide a significant fightback, adding 45 for the seventh wicket before the latter was unfortunately run out in the 18th, at 135/7, followed by the former a couple of runs later in the same over to pacer Mohit Sharma. It was effectively game over for MI, as GT got the job done by 55 runs, while it was the visitors' most considerable margin of defeat since 2015. For the hosts, Ahmad scalped three, whereas senior seamer Mohammed Shami was economical.
