Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill said on Saturday that he twisted his ankle during his brilliant 84 off 44 balls, but he managed to finish his innings and assist his team defeat Rajasthan Royals by 77 runs in their Indian Premier League encounter in Jaipur.
Gill’s performance, which featured nine fours and three sixes, was a masterclass in timing and strokeplay as he combined aggression and grace despite momentarily experiencing left foot pain before hitting his fourth IPL fifty of the year.
After being asked to bat first, Gill and Sudharsan shared a powerful 118-run opening partnership (55 off 36 balls) to move GT to 229/4.
Veteran leg spinner Rashid Khan returned with superb figures of 4/33 and Jason Holder took 3/12 as RR, chasing 230, were bowled out for 152 in 16.3 overs.
“While taking run, I think I twisted my ankle a little bit. It was painful. But I think after half an hour or so, it settled down. Very happy (for the win). Next game is at home and hopefully we will have another good match,” PTI quoted Gill as saying at the post-match presentation.
Gill claimed that it was almost a perfect match for his team.
“Yeah, definitely (perfect match). Even before this match, we had a conversation that till now I don’t think we had a perfect match. I think this was a clean win for us. We got 10-15 extra, it was not easy to hit sixes or boundaries (against the spinners). Always knew if we got a couple of wickets in the powerplay, we would have a good game.”
Gill commented on pacers Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj bowling three overs apiece during the powerplay, saying, “We believe it is important to hold fort up front. If we take wickets, it gives the bowlers more chance to attack through the middle. You have to keep taking wickets — there is no other way.”
Player of the Match, star leg-spinner Rashid, stated that this season was more about enjoying his art.
“Quite happy. It was something unusual for me (in last two seasons). This season, more about enjoying myself and hitting the right areas consistently. Happy with that (so far).
“When I had that surgery, I took only two months to get back. That time, I made a huge mistake (of coming back soon). Last year, when IPL was over, I had 2-3 months off and tried to work on my fitness. The rhythm I bowl through the crease — it was something I was missing. Had a good ‘Hundred’ competition and then kept on.”
On his performance against RR on Saturday, he said, “The moment I bowled the first ball, I knew there was something for me. Pace was something I was trying to mix up. If I leave the stumps, it gets easy for the batters to take a single or hit a boundary.
“Wanted to hit a length but also the line. I made that move in my mind – that if I pitch it in the right area, there will be help.”
On working with the Indian spinners, the Afghan player said, “It is so good. We have been together for a long time. Important to have those players around you. When I come here, I have those good conversations (on how to bowl at different venues in India), and I share my international experiences.
“Modern cricket demands more variations. Sai Kishore is working hard on his variations and working hard on a wrong’un – looking forward to seeing it (in matches).”
Yashasvi Jaiswal, the stand-in captain of the Royals, acknowledged that GT’s batting was superior to that of his squad.
“We were just thinking to bowl good areas, they batted well. We were just thinking of how to cut down boundaries, so it was pretty good from them.”
On Jofra Archer’s lackluster performance in the match, he said, “It is cricket. There are some days when you cannot bowl how you want. He has been doing well for us, and I think he will be coming back strongly. We are going to look at what we can do better and learn from this game.”
