Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper Hardik Pandya lauded Shubman Gill after he smashed a career-best 129 off just 60 balls during their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 Qualifier 2 win over the Mumbai Indians (MI) on Friday, May 28. Gill was once again at his best in what was a must-win match against the five-time champions in a knock that saw him hit 10 sixes and 7 boundaries to help them post 233 runs on the board.
It was his third ton of the season, in his last 4 innings. Now, the 23-year-old has 851 runs in 15 matches blasting past Faf du Plessis in the Orange Cap standings. Shubman's score is the highest by a batter in the history of the playoffs. He is also only the third batter after Virat Kohli (973 in 2016) and Jos Buttler (863 in 2022) to score more than 850 runs in a single season.
His performance left his skipper Hardik Pandya awestruck. "I think the clarity he [Shubman Gill] carried, he is in a great place when it comes to the mindset. This has to be one of the best knocks I have seen in a while. He never looked in rush, he was always in control and it felt like the balls were thrown at him and he was striking them. I mean whoof!! He is a superstar and is going to do great things for both the franchise and the country," he said after the match.
Batting first, GT started positively but lost Wriddhiman Saha just after the Powerplay. Then Gill and Sai Sudharsan set up a sensational 138-run stand, giving the hosts much-needed impetus. Gill scored his third hundred in the last four innings and ended with 129 runs, the highest individual score of this season.
Pandya, while interviewing Shubman after the match, also said that the youngster's batting scares him. "Sometimes we have to stop him because of the amount of batting he does. I get scared seeing him bat that much. I told in the presentation that what I enjoyed, not only today, is the confidence you are carrying around and the self-belief you have," he said.
