Shubman Gill's golden touch helps GT boss KKR, complete hat-trick of wins: 'Sublime form, top-notch clarity'

Cameron Green and Shubman Gill starred with the bat for Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Titans respectively in their Indian Premier League match at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday. While Green stuck 79 off 55 balls in what was his first half-century since being acquired for Rs 25.2 crore, Gill brought up his third fifty on the trot, eventually getting dismissed on 86 off 50 deliveries.

The two knocks, however, couldn't be more different in terms of their eventual outcome on the game. While Green's knock helped lift KKR to a relatively respectable 180, the lack of support from his teammates meant that the Ajinkya Rahane-led side had fallen 15-20 runs short of what would have been an ideal total on what was a good batting surface.

More from Firstcricket

Gill's knock, on the other hand, had played a central role in helping the Titans knock the stuffing out of the hapless Knight Riders attack in the powerplay, and the captain stuck around long enough during the chase to ensure that his team had the foundation to get over the line comfortably despite a late wobble.

The difference between the two teams as far as their powerplay batting was concerned was massive and was one of the core reasons why the Titans won by five wickets despite a spirited fightback by the Knight Riders late in the game. KKR had crawled to 37/3 after skipper Rahane opted to bat, while GT's corresponding score for the same phase was 71/1 – almost twice the number of runs scored by their opponents.

And while opening partner Sai Sudharsan (22 off 16) and No 3 batter Jos Buttler (25 off 15) had chipped in with handy contributions, it was Gill who played a central role in ensuring that the Titans remained a step ahead of their opponents during their chase.

It was the third consecutive half-century for India's Test and ODI captain, who had been left out of the Suryakumar Yadav-led squad that would go on to win the T20 World Cup in favour of Sanju Samson. What makes his contributions even better from the Titans' perspective is the fact that each of his half-centuries have resulted in a victory so far this season, and his latest knock was the best of them all as far as strike rate is concerned – scoring at 172 against KKR on Friday.

Bishop and Rayudu praise 'clinical' Gill

Former West Indies pacer Ian Bishop praised Gill for taking his 'aggression up to another level' while shouldering the responsibility of batting deep and laying the foundation for a successful chase.

"Really good. Good to see him back to his best and trying to take his aggression up to another level. I think he’s got an eye on the league and he’s seeing what the top teams are doing," Bishop said during the post-match discussion on ESPNCricinfo's Time:Out show.

"It was good to see that method where they get one of their top three to bat deep and more often than not it takes them across the line. So the method worked again," he added.

Former India batter Ambati Rayudu, Bishop's co-panelist on the same show, praised the 26-year-old for showing no sign of pre-meditation in his shots.

"Shubman was quite clinical if you look at it. They were all good cricketing shots. He was not trying to force the ball. There was no pre-meditation there. He was hitting good shots in the gaps as well as over the fielders. That means he’s in sublime form as well as his clarity was top notch," the former Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings batter said.

After a poor start to the season with back-to-back defeats, GT now find themselves at the fourth spot on the points table after completing a hat-trick of wins with their victory over KKR.

And they will be backing themselves to make it four-in-four, with Gill having his sights set on another stellar display with the bat, when they host struggling five-time champions Mumbai Indians on Monday.