NEW DELHI: For many, he is the new prince of Indian cricket โ while Virat Kohli remains the king. And Shubman Gill is taking big strides, as the young opener was instrumental in the Gujarat Titans reaching their second successive Indian Premier League (IPL) final โ in only their second season.
Gillโs dazzling 60-ball 129, which saw seven fours and 10 sixes, was instrumental in Titans recording a 64-run win over a hapless Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2 on Friday.
It was also Gillโs third century of the edition, as he became IPL 2023โs top run-getter with an impressive 851 runs from 16 matches at a strike rate of 156.43. Apart from his three hundred, Gill also slammed four half tons โ and he also added a โduckโ to his tally this season.
Gill also becomes only the second Indian player, and fourth overall, to surpass 800 runs in a season.
Gillโs breathtaking knock also saw him rewrite three records. The 23-year-old broke swashbuckling former India opener Virender Sehwagโs record for the highest individual score in an IPL playoffs game. In 2014, Sehwagโs 58-ball 122 for Kings XI Punjab helped them beat Chennai Super Kings by 24 runs in the Qualifier 2.
At 23 years and 260 days, Gill also became the youngest player to score an IPL hundred in the playoffs. He is also the seventh player to score an IPL hundred in the playoffs.
Gillโs 60-ball 129 is also the highest individual score in the IPL playoff. He surpassed Sehwagโs 2014 knock. While Gill slammed seven fours and 10 sixes, Sehwag slammed 12 fours and eight sixes.
Gujarat Titansโ Mohit Sharma, who picked five wickets on Friday, and coach Aashish Nehra will surely remember the onslaught as they bore the brunt of Sehwag on the song.
While Nehra picked up two wickets, including his Delhi teammate Sehwag, the left-arm pacer cost CSK 50 runs. Sharma picked up the wicket of his now GT teammate Wriddhiman Saha, but he leaked 46 runs that evening at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
