Gujarat Titans (GT) had to make a few changes to their batting order after David Miller was unavailable for the clash against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on April 4. While skipper Shubman Gill at the coin toss said that Miller missed the match ‘due to a niggle’, his replacement in the playing XI, Kane Williamson cleared the air during the mid-innings break.
Williamson played his first match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 against PBKS. As the Kiwi batter walked into the side, the team management had to push Sai Sudharsan and Vijay Shankar down the batting order.
After Gill’s unbeaten 89 and Rahul Tewatia, cameo helped GT post 199/4, Williamson revealed that Miller will miss a few games due to injury.
“Nice to be out there, shame to lose Davey (Miller) for a week or two,” he told the broadcasters.
How many matches will Miller miss?
Miller in three games registered scores of 12, 21, and 44 not out. If the South African takes two weeks to regain full fitness, he will miss GT's four games. If Miller recovers in just one week, he will still miss their clashes against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) on April 4 and 10 respectively.
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Williamson’s first knock of IPL 2024
Williamson walked in to bat after the completion of the third over. He hit his first boundary off Kagiso Rabada. In the next over, he hit Sam Curran for two boundaries. In the ninth over, he fell to left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar. He played a cut shot and hit it straight to backward point fielder Jonny Bairstow. The 33-year-old contributed 26 runs from 22 balls in the partnership with Gill.
Williamson praises young skipper
Williamson lauded Gill’s captaincy as he said, “He has just started, a great cricket brain, what a gifted player, leads by example, he will keep growing with experience.”
In the previous season, he played just one game and got injured on the boundary while attempting to take a catch. He was ruled out for months due to a hamstring injury.
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