IPL 2023: 'One of the finest T20 innings I have seen,' GT captain Hardik Pandya lauds superman Shubman Gill

Gujarat Titans have cruised to their second successive IPL final, and this time, all credit goes to star opener Shubman Gill, who notched up his third hundred of the season. In the rain-hit Qualifier 2 against Mumbai Indians in IPL 2023, Shubman scored a brilliant 129 off 60 balls – an innings GT captain Hardik Pandya calls the best he has ever seen in this format.

Hardik showered praises on the franchise's future superstar, saying the clarity with which Gill has batted this season, he deserves to touch the skies. The right-handed opener surpassed RCB captain Faf du Plessis for the Orange Cap already, as he has amassed 851 runs in 16 matches at an average of 60.79 and a strike rate of 156.43.

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ALSO READ:IPL 2023: Shubman Gill shines as GT storm into final after beating MI by 62 runs

Following the match, Hardik said, "The clarity this year he has. The confidence that he is carrying is amazing. The innings which I saw today was one of the finest innings I have seen in a T20 game."

After being asked to bat first, Gujarat got off to a flyer, with Gill chipping in with fours early on. However, after he got dropped on 30 by Tim David, Gill switched gears and went bonkers, slamming every bowler for boundaries. His third ton (129) in fourinnings, which also happens to be the highest individual score in IPL playoffs, helped GT put up a mammoth 233 for three in 20 overs.

The man in sublime touch had made batting look utterly easy - something Pandya also agrees to.

"At no point in time, he looked rushed, at no point he looked like he was not in control. It looked as if someone was throwing down the balls and he was just hitting. He is a superstar and is going to do big things to franchise cricket and Indian cricket," Hardik added.

Gujarat set up a summit clash with CSK

234 was never going to be easy to chase, given the stage, the pressure, and what was at stake. Mumbai, unlikely how they had batted in the lead-up to this game, looked under pressure and lost early wickets. While Ishan Kishan and Cameron Green suffered injuries, with Ishan getting ruled out due to concussion, MI had little to rely on during the chase.

However, their star performer Suryakumar Yadav and emerging left-hander Tilak Varma did play counter-attacking innings, this mountain score proved too much for the former champions, as eventually they crumbled under pressure and fell shy of the target by 62 runs.

Mohit Sharma picked up five wickets for ten runs, while Rashid Khan and Mohammed Shami returned with two wickets each.

Gujarat Titans will take on Chennai Super Kings for the IPL crown at the same venue on Sunday, May 28th.

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