Shubman Gill Mirrors Virat Kohli’s Brilliance as Gujarat Clinches Victory by Six Wickets, RCB Eliminated from IPL as MI Secure Playoff Spot.

Shubman Gill played an exceptional innings of 104* from just 52 deliveries, guiding Gujarat Titans to a thrilling victory and eliminating Royal Challengers from the TATA IPL 2023 tournament. The match took place at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Virat Kohli had displayed his dominance once again with back-to-back centuries, propelling Royal Challengers Bangalore to a formidable total of 197/5. However, Gill’s remarkable knock overshadowed Kohli’s unbeaten 101*, resulting in GT eliminating RCB and helping Mumbai Indians secure a place in the playoffs.

In pursuit of 192, Gujarat Titans got off to a flying start but lost Wriddhiman Saha during the Powerplay. Saha and Gill managed to hit three boundaries in the second over, but Mohammed Siraj struck in the third over, dismissing Saha with an excellent one-handed catch at cover-point executed by Wayne Parnell. Despite a couple of fortunate boundaries and a six from Vijay Shankar, who replaced Yash Dayal, in the sixth over, GT reached 51/1 at the end of the Powerplay.

Gill and Shankar maintained a steady flow of runs with occasional boundaries, taking GT to 90/1 at the halfway stage. Gill completed his fifty off just 29 balls and then unleashed an assault on Doug Bracewell, smashing two sixes and accumulating 16 runs from the over. Shankar also contributed to the run-scoring spree, hitting a couple of fours and a massive 106-meter six off Vijaykumar Vyshak. However, Vyshak made a strong comeback by dismissing Shankar (53 off 35) in the same over, caught at deep mid-wicket. GT suffered another setback as Dasun Shanaka mistimed his shot to deep mid-wicket in the following over from Harshal Patel.

Despite the setbacks, Gill’s exceptional innings guided Gujarat Titans to a remarkable victory, chasing down the target and securing their spot in the playoffs, while knocking Royal Challengers out of the tournament.

David Miller made an impactful entrance by striking a boundary wide of short fine leg off the first ball when Gujarat Titans required 43 runs from 24 deliveries. Vijaykumar Vyshak bowled a decent over, managing to prevent boundaries and conceding only nine runs, leaving GT with a target of 34 runs from 18 balls.

In the subsequent over from Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill unleashed a massive six off the first ball. However, Siraj retaliated strongly, dismissing the dangerous Miller, caught at deep point, three balls later. Undeterred, Gill delivered a crucial blow by hitting another six over deep mid-wicket to bring the equation down to 19 runs needed from 12 balls.

Gill continued to strike the ball cleanly, adding another six off Harshal Patel in the penultimate over, collecting 11 runs from it. With eight runs required from the final over, Faf du Plessis entrusted the ball to Wayne Parnell. The left-arm pacer began with a wide delivery, but Gill successfully reviewed it as a waist-high no-ball, earning GT an extra run. Parnell followed it up with an extremely wide delivery outside off, resulting in another wide call after RCB’s unsuccessful review. With six runs needed from the remaining six balls, Gill stylishly sealed the victory by smashing a sensational six over long-on, completing his century and securing the win for GT.

In the earlier stages of the match, Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and opted to bowl. They made one change to the starting lineup, with Yash Dayal replacing Sai Sudharsan. Their substitutes for the match were Vijay Shankar, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Sai Koshore, and Abhinav Manohar.

Royal Challengers Bangalore made two changes to their playing eleven, bringing in Dinesh Karthik and Vijaykumar Vyshak in place of Karn Sharma and Shahbaz Ahmed. Their substitutes for the match were Himanshu Sharma, Suyash Prabhudessai, Finn Allen, Sonu Yadav, and Akash Deep.

Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis once again provided a rapid start for RCB. Du Plessis displayed aggression in the third over by hitting four boundaries off Shami, while Kohli joined the scoring spree in the following over, smacking three consecutive fours off Yash Dayal. The duo appeared in complete control as they took RCB to 62/0 at the conclusion of the Powerplay.

Noor Ahmad finally ended the 67-run opening partnership when he induced an outside edge from Faf du Plessis (28 off 19), which brushed Wriddhiman Saha’s pads and popped up for a catch to Rahul Tewatia at first slip. Glenn Maxwell wasted no time in getting going, hitting a six and a four off Noor, but Rashid Khan swiftly cleaned up Maxwell with a deceptive googly in the following over, providing a major setback for RCB. Noor Ahmad continued his impressive spell by dismissing Mahipal Lomror, who was stumped after being deceived by a clever delivery down the leg side while attempting to attack.

Michael Bracewell entered the scene and immediately accelerated the scoring rate, smashing three fours in just two overs. Virat Kohli reached his fifty off 35 balls, and the pair added three more boundaries against Mohit Sharma before Mohammed Shami claimed a crucial wicket, catching and dismissing Bracewell (26 off 16) in his own bowling. GT struck twice in quick succession as Dinesh Karthik edged one to the keeper while attempting a pull shot off Yash Dayal.

Kohli once again injected momentum into the innings with two well-placed fours off Mohit in the 16th over. Rashid Khan bowled an economical 17th over, conceding only six runs, but Kohli intensified the assault by hitting a six and a four off Yash Dayal. He struck a couple of fours against Shami in the following over to reach 99 runs. Kohli then reached his second consecutive century by taking a single to long-on off Mohit in the penultimate over, receiving a roaring reception from the enthusiastic Bengaluru crowd. In the final over, Shivam Rawat finished the innings strongly with a six and a four, adding 15 runs to the total, leading RCB to post 197/5.

Kohli finished unbeaten on 101 off 61 balls, while Rawat remained not out on 23 off 15. RCB introduced Himanshu Sharma as their Impact Player, replacing Dinesh Karthik at the end of the first innings.