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The Times of India
The Times of India
Sport
TIMESOFINDIA.COM

IPL 2023: Anil Kumble impressed with Ruturaj Gaikwad's six-hitting ability

NEW DELHI: Ruturaj Gaikwad's six-hitting prowess during his 92-run knock in the IPL opener against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on Friday left former India captain Anil Kumble highly impressed.

Kumble said that all of Chennai Super Kings opener's hits over the fence were "clean" and results of "pure timing", even though Gaikwad's show, featuring four boundaries and nine sixes from 50 balls, was overshadowed by the Titans' all-round performance.

Shubman Gill struck 63 off 36 balls to help the defending champions Titans chase down the 179-run target in 19.2 overs.

"We don't associate him (Gaikwad) with six hitting but to hit nine sixes in an inning is really amazing. Clean, it looked really clean. It was not like he was going out of shape and trying to muscle it, just pure timing," said Kumble in a release from the official IPL broadcasters.

Former India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel also praised Gaikwad, one of the players retained by CSK during the mega auction last year ahead of IPL 2022, for his dazzling knock.

"It seemed like Ruturaj Gaikwad was batting on a different wicket compared to the other batsmen. The approach he used is extremely praiseworthy," said Parthiv, a JioCinema IPL expert.

Gaikwad's form during IPL 2021 -- he scored 635 runs in 16 games, including a century -- was instrumental in CSK winning their fourth IPL title. His dip in form coincided with the Chennai outfit finishing ninth among 10 teams last year.

1/10:Gujarat Titans beat Chennai Super Kings to win IPL 2023 opener

IANS

2/10:Gujarat Titans beat Chennai Super Kings

<p>Opener Shubman Gill smashed 63 as holders Gujarat Titans beat Chennai Super Kings by five wickets in the Indian Premier League opener in Ahmedabad on Friday. </p>AFP

3/10:Shubman Gill

<p>Chasing 179 for victory, Gujarat rode on Gill's 36-ball innings to achieve their target with four balls to spare. </p>AP

4/10:Ruturaj Gaikwad

<p>Hardik Pandya won the toss and elected to field first before Chennai opener Ruturaj Gaikwad smashed a flurry of boundaries in his 92 off 50 balls. </p>AFP

5/10:​Ruturaj on the attack

<p>Ruturaj lost partners Moeen Ali (23) and Ben Stokes (7) but kept up the attack against the opposition bowlers. </p>AFP

6/10:Mohammed Shami

<p>But Mohammed Shami, who reached 100 IPL wickets, Rashid Khan and Alzarri Joseph took two wickets each to check the opposition scoring. </p>AFP

7/10:Kane Williamson

<p>Gujarat suffered a blow when Kane Williamson jarred his knee while attempting a catch at the boundary and limped off the ground. </p>AFP

8/10:Impact player rule

<p>Sai Sudharsan replaced Williamson under the new "impact player" rule after Chennai replaced Ambati Rayudu with Tushar Deshpande when they fielded. </p>ANI

9/10:​Deshpande gets Gill

<p>Deshpande got the prized wicket of Gill after being hit for a six on the previous ball to boost Chennai's hopes of a turnaround. </p>AP

10/10:Unbeaten cameos

<p>But unbeaten cameos from Rashid Khan (10) and Rahul Tewatia (15) steered their team home.</p>AFP
Gujarat Titans beat Chennai Super Kings to win IPL 2023 opener

He has a special liking for Titans bowling attack, as in the three innings he has played against Hardik Pandya's side, he has scored 218 runs, including a half-century in every game.

Patel felt that CSK's score of 178 was not competitive enough to unnerve the Titans.

"On this wicket, the target was below par, so a strong start is essential. I think the Gujarat Titans got that and kept the momentum. The way the Titans started their chase, Wriddhiman Saha got the license to use the first six overs to his advantage as much as he could," said the former India wicketkeeper-batter.

Patel predicted that from the way Gill was batting on Friday, he could score 600 runs this season.

"Shubman Gill did what we know Shubman Gill can do and carried over his international form into the IPL. We may get to see a 600-run season from Shubman Gill."

Gill's performance also came in for praise from Kumble, who hailed the youngster's attitude.

"Right at the end, he (Gill) said that 'I was not happy with the way I got out,' which means that he wants to improve and if he's in that situation in the next game, he wants to finish the game for his team. That's a very good sign for a young player.

"We spoke about it on the pre-match show on how he's improved from getting 40s and 50s to 100s in one-dayers and 200. Now, I am sure that this is a good sign for Indian cricket and Shubman Gill to start out on such a wonderful note," said Kumble.

(With PTI inputs)

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