CHENNAI: When Shubman Gill came into the 2023 season, his career strike rate in the Indian Premier League was 125.24. Everyone knew he was a class act in the making, but somehow the Gujarat Titans batter hadn’t cracked the shortest format. To an extent, it was also one of the reasons why he was not retained by Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the 2022 mega auction.
Last year, Gill was ready. He had upskilled himself and married his poster-worthy stroke play with insane intent. He struck at 150.84 in the first six overs and then he only got better (162.8). No kind of bowler was spared. Against pace, Gill operated at 157.53 SR and spinners at 158.15 SR. It is not just the intent that made it look crazy, but how long he was able to sustain it. While striking at over 150, he averaged 59.33, registering a breakthrough season. Such was his impact that he came close to beating Virat Kohli’s 973-run record, finishing the season with 890 runs.
Since the IPL, it had been a rollercoaster for Gill despite the record ODI year he had with the bat. The opener caught dengue during the World Cup, was appointed as the captain of Titans after Hardik Pandya was traded, had a poor run in Tests before making a statement in the England series and so on. This is why, when the 2024 IPL season began, all eyes were on how he would handle the captaincy, especially filling in the shoes of someone who had led the team to two finals in as many years.
Not much was said about his batting as Titans won two of their first three games, but Gill would have been kicking himself. He had 75 runs from three innings at 136.36. Now, for an above-average batter, it does not look that bad, but not Gill. He is more than just an above-average batter.
On Thursday, during the clash against Punjab Kings in Ahmedabad, the Titans skipper showed just that. In a hurry to get things going, he stepped out and launched Harpreet Brar down the ground on the very first over of the match. When Kagiso Rabada came along, he stood tall and flicked the pacer. With the edge flying to the ropes off Arshdeep Singh, Gill had raced to 18 off just eight balls. From there, he just stood in his crease and played the ball on its merit. He kept ticking the scorecard, but at the same time, if there was width on offer, he would slash it wide of deep third. With B Sai Sudharsan (33 from 19), he built the innings at a decent rate while ensuring there were no high-risk shots.
At the same time when Punjab tried to sneak in an over from Sikandar Raza, they pounced on him. But it was not until Sai Sudharsan got out Gill pushed the pedal. It started with a picture-perfect loft off Rabada into the sight screen and then came the swats against Harshal Patel as Gill brought up his fifty in 31 balls. A six and four followed off Rabada and it seemed like the Titans skipper looked set for a century. However, the boundaries did not come, and neither did the strike with Rahul Tewatia hitting boundaries, as Gill finished with an unbeaten 89 from 48 balls as Titans posted 199/4.
Titans might have lost the match by three wickets, thanks to Shashank Singh (61 n.o) and Ashutosh Sharma (31) heroics, but Gill needed this innings. For despite the result, it would give him a world of confidence for days to come. Brief scores: GT 199/4 in 20 ovs (Gill 89 n.o, Sai Sudharsan 33; Rabada 2/44) lost to PBKS 200/7 in 19.5 ovs (Shashank 61 n.o).