For the second season running, we have done it again. Gujarat Titans have reached the TATA IPL 2023 Playoffs with a comprehensive win against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday. 

It was a special night for the franchise as we donned the lavender jersey to showcase our support in the battle against cancer. Our players stepped up with some terrific individual performances as well, making the day even more memorable. 

Gill - The Record Breaker

After an early wicket, Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill took no time to settle in and went after the bowlers. The classy youngsters took no risks and played some delightful textbook shots to keep the scorecard running, bringing up a 50 partnership in four overs. 

Gill continued the onslaught after the powerplay overs as well while Sudharsan took a backseat to anchor the innings. The duo brought up a sparkling 100-run partnership inside the first 10 overs. Interestingly, Gujarat Titans' 103 for one is the highest 10-over total in TATA IPL without hitting a six.

It did not take long for the duo to break their streak of not hitting a six. Sudharsan played another one of his trademark scoops to bring up the first six of the match, then Shubman joined the party in the next over with a six off Abhishek Sharma. 

Sudharsan fell just short of a half-century and a few quick wickets brought our scoring rate down, but Gill kept us going. It was a day of records for our star opener, who completed 500 runs in a single TATA IPL season for the first time, became the first GT batter to score 1,000 runs in the tournament and that was not it! 

He also became the first Gujarat Titans player to bring up a century in TATA IPL, getting to this milestone in 56 deliveries. This continued his golden run in 2023, scoring a century in ODIs, Tests, T20Is for the Men in Blue and now a TATA IPL ton for the Titans.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar finished on a strong note for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, completing his second five-fer in TATA IPL. We scored 188 runs batting first. 

Mohit and Shami pick four wickets each

After the break, Mohammad Shami continued his rich vein of form with the new ball, dismissing Anmolpreet Singh in the first over of the innings. Yash Dayal, playing for the first time in over a month, got a wicket straight away with his outswinging delivery undoing Abhishek Sharma. 

Rashid Khan took a giant stride in the Purple Cap race last match with his four-fer. But Shami is not letting go of this prize so easily, as he took two more wickets before the powerplay overs ended. The visiting side had lost four wickets in the field-restricted overs and immediately after that, Mohit Sharma took over the mantle. 

He struck with the first ball of his spell, hurrying Sanvir Singh with his pace. He got another one in the same over, getting the better of Abdul Samad. We restricted them to 59 for seven in nine overs, but a partnership between Heinrich Klaasen and Bhuvneshwar Kumr delayed the eventual result. The Sunrisers managed to score 154 for nine in 20 overs, completing a 34-run for us. 

Mohit Sharma and Mohammad Shami reigned supreme with the ball, picking up four wickets each. While Shami took over the Purple Cap from Rashid Khan, Mohit took his wicket tally to 17, continuing his sensational run of form this edition. 

Brief Scores

Gujarat Titans 188/9 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 101, Sai Sudharsan 47, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 5/30) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 154/9 in 20 overs (Mohammad Shami 4/20, Mohit Sharma 4/28)

Player of the Match: Shubman Gill