'Hopefully, he gives me little more strike in powerplay': Shubman Gill's plea to centurion Sai Sudharsan after RCB loss

Gujarat Titans (GT) opener Sai Sudharsan’s ton went in vain as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) chase down 206 with seven balls to spare. After the defeat, skipper Shubman Gill lauded Sudharsan who has been upset with himself for not contributing with the bat in the previous two matches. However, he wants his opening partner to give him more strike during the powerplay overs.

Playing at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, GT had 57 runs on the board after powerplay overs. Teams have posted bigger powerplay totals at the venue. In the powerplay overs, Gill faced just seven deliveries. On the other end, Sudharsan faced 29 balls and scored 46 off it.

“He [Sudharsan] was quite upset with the way he got in the previous couple of matches. But I think he covered up well. But in the next match, hopefully, he gives me a little bit more strike in the powerplay," Gill said in the post-match presentation.

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Gill ended up getting dismissed for a 24-ball 32. In the 13th over, he fell to a googly from leg-spinner Suyash Sharma. Gill and Sudharsan shared a 128-run opening partnership with the latter doing bulk of scoring.

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3 boundaryless overs hurt Titans

Sudharsan fell after reaching his century from 57 balls. He lost his wicket to Josh Hazlewood in the 16th over. No boundaries were scored from 17th to 19th over. Gill feels that the batters faltered during slog overs and posted a below par target.

“Yeah, definitely, I think, from 16 till 19, those three overs, we couldn't get any boundaries and we didn't get as many runs as we would have liked. I think those three overs were very crucial for us,” said the 26-year-old.

In the run chase, Virat Kohli scored a 44-ball 81 whereas Devdutt Padikkal contributed with a 27-ball 55. Later, Krunal Pandya's unbeaten 12-ball 23 cameo ensured RCB get over the line in the penultimate over. This was GT's fourth defeat of the season.

GT to face CSK next

They are currently placed seventh on the points table. They have a quick turnaround time as their next game is against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on April 26.