Shubman Gill & Co. defeated Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai Indians (MI) in the fifth match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Sunday, March 24.
The match was intense and the home team held their nerve to pull victory from the jaws of defeat. They won the match by 6 runs to begin their campaign with a surprising victory over the five-time champions.
While batting first in the match, the Gujarat Titans posted a decent total of 168/6 on the board. The main reason why GT could not score big was Mumbai Indians (MI) main pacer Jasprit Bumrah who took a three-wicket haul and gave away just 14 runs in his quota of 4 overs.
Chasing the target, Rohit Sharma and Dewald Brevis set the tone for victory but the GT bowlers did an absolutely marvelous job in the death overs and restricted Mumbai. Veteran pacers Mohit Sharma and Umesh Yadav played a pivotal role in GT’s victory.
After winning his first match as captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Shubman Gill was delighted and, speaking during the post-match presentation ceremony, praised his players for showing great character under pressure against the 5-champions weather. Shubman Gill said:
“The way the children held their nerves when the spray came in was exceptional. The way our spinners played ensured that we were always in the game. It’s about controlling your nerves.”
Shubman Gill was quite impressed with the performance of top-order batsman Sai Sudharsan and said that he has been a revelation for the franchise. Shubman Gill further said:
“He (Sai Sudharsan) has been a revelation for us. We just wanted to increase the pressure and wait for them to make mistakes. The crowd is one thing, they have always come, whether it is a day game or a night game, and say hello to all the fans who have come here to support us. I thought it was a good score but we definitely left at least 15 runs there, it was difficult to hit those short balls as the wicket got a little slow towards the end.”
After receiving praise from Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan says, “I just take it as an extra opportunity to try and win a game for my team.”
Sai Sudharsan scored 45 runs off 39 balls, including 3 fours and 1 six, and played a key role in Gujarat Titans’ victory in the first match of the tournament. He was also awarded the Man of the Match award for his heroics.
Speaking during the post-match presentation ceremony, Sai Sudharsan said that batting in the first innings was quite difficult compared to the second innings. He explained:
“I feel like even in the first inning it was a little tough and in the second inning because of the dew they were able to play some shots, but today we played a great game.”
Sai Sudharsan added that he is trying to give his best for the Gujarat Titans (GT) and help them win matches in the league. The young batsman also expressed his surprise at receiving the Player of the Match award. He stated:
“I just take it as an extra opportunity to try to win a game for my team. After a few balls, I felt that this is that kind of wicket where you can go hard everywhere and I wanted to take advantage of the momentum. Too many great contributions in the second entry and I am really surprised to receive this award. As a batsman, I found it difficult when they took the pace away and our players really executed good today.”