NEW DELHI: After an impressive display of batting prowess against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday, Gujarat Titans' star batsman Shubman Gill delivered a stern warning to Chennai Super Kings on Sunday. Gill, who scored an unbeaten 104 off just 52 balls, asserted that his team possesses a formidable bowling attack capable of challenging MS Dhoni's CSK on the Chepauk wicket in the Qualifier 1 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday.
After Virat Kohli's magnificent century propelled RCB to a formidable 197 for five, Gill stole the limelight by crafting his own extraordinary innings. With an unbeaten 104, he single-handedly guided GT to a remarkable six-wicket victory, effectively eliminating the home team from the tournament.
"I think we have a great bowling attack for that (Chennai) wicket. It's going to be an exciting one, playing against Chennai in Chennai. Hopefully, we'll make it to the final for the second time," Gill said at the post-match presentation.
Speaking about his century, the player of the match said, "It's all about getting a start and converting it into a big one. Thankfully, it's working out for me in the business end. You have to keep applying yourself, that's important.
"The new ball was holding on a bit. It was getting wet due to the dew. I thought Vijay Shankar was trying to go too hard. Once he found the momentum, he hit it a long way. I know my game... for any player it's important to know who you are."
Besides Gill, GT skipper Hardik Pandya also lauded his teammates for the "calmness" in the dugout.
"The calmness which the boys had was terrific. We wanted to keep the momentum going. We have ticked a lot of boxes."
On Gill, the captain said, "He knows when he plays those cricketing shots, it's a different Shubman Gill. He doesn't give any chance and that gives confidence to the other batter as well."
He added, "We would have taken 197 at the start, but we didn't bowl well. Special innings from Kohli, but we went too early for the death overs.
1/10:IPL 2023: Gujarat Titans eliminate Royal Challengers Bangalore
ANI
2/10:GT beat RCB
<p>Gujarat Titans opener Shubman Gill hit a superb century to outdo Virat Kohli's second successive ton as Royal Challengers Bangalore were eliminated from the IPL on Sunday.</p>PTI
3/10:Shubman Gill
<p>Gill followed his century against Sunrisers Hyderabad with an unbeaten 104 off 52 balls as Gujarat reached 198/4 with five balls to spare for a six-wicket win.</p>PTI
4/10:RCB 197/5
<p>Kohli with 101 not out — his record seventh century in the IPL — anchored RCB to 197/5 but Gill powered Gujarat's run chase by hitting eight sixes and five fours.</p>PTI
5/10:RCB openers
<p>After the start was delayed by nearly an hour because of rain, Kohli and captain Faf du Plessis combined in a 67-run opening stand off 43 balls. </p>PTI
6/10:35-ball 50
<p>But Gujarat spinner Noor Ahmad (2/39) and Rashid Khan (1/24) squeezed the runs in the middle overs as Kohli raised his half-century off 35 balls. </p>PTI
7/10:7 IPL tons
<p>Kohli upped the scoring rate in the death overs with his superb drives on both sides of the wicket and became the first batter in IPL history to score seven centuries. </p>PTI
8/10:Kohli ton
<p>Kohli scooped Mohit Sharma (0/54) to long on in the final over for a single to raise his hundred off 60 balls only to see Gill's brilliance take the win away from his team. </p>PTI
9/10:Match-winner
<p>Gill defied the data favoring teams batting first and winning at Bangalore in the recent past with his superb stroke play. </p>PTI
10/10:Match-winning stand
<p>Gill and Vijay Shankar (53) put on a match-winning stand of 123 runs for the second wicket. </p>PTI"I can't ask anything better from the boys. Last year, everything went well for us. We were expecting people to challenge us. The boys showed tremendous character."
RCB skipper Faf du Plessis couldn't hide his disappointment after the defeat.
"Very disappointed. We played a really strong team tonight, an amazing hundred from Shubman. It was really wet in the second innings.
"It was wet in the first innings as well, but there wasn't a lot of grip in the second innings and also we had to change the ball quite a few times during the second innings.
"Virat played an unbelievable knock to give us a chance and thought that was a good score, but Shubman played incredibly well to take the game away from us."
Dinesh Karthik's woeful run with bat really hampered RCB's prospects this season and on that, Du Plessis said, "Last year DK had a purple patch and was finishing games left, right and centre, but this season it wasn't to be.
"And if you see the teams that succeed, they have some good hitters at five at six probably six and seven."
(With inputs from PTI)
