"Shouldn't Gill have been the Man of the Match?" - Aakash Chopra questions POTM decision in Gujarat Titans' IPL 2023 win against Punjab Kings

Aakash Chopra believes Shubman Gill should have been awarded the Player of the Match ahead of Mohit Sharma in the Gujarat Titans' (GT) IPL 2023 win against the Punjab Kings (PBKS).

Mohit registered figures of 2/18 in four overs as the Gujarat Titans restricted the Punjab Kings to 153/8 after asking them to bat first in Mohali on Thursday, April 13. Gill then scored a 49-ball 67 as Hardik Pandya and Co. chased down the target with six wickets and a solitary delivery to spare.

While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra questioned why Shubman Gill wasn't given the Player of the Match, saying:

"Gujarat won, the match went till the end for sure, but they won. Shouldn't Gill have been the Man of the Match? My Player of the Match would have been Shubman Gill."

The former Indian opener pointed out that it was not a big-scoring game although the pitch might have looked flat, explaining:

"Both teams batted. It doesn't make a difference based on what I or you say that the pitch was flat. If one team made 153 and the other team chased it down in 19.5 overs and wickets were lost in both innings, batting might not have been easy."

While praising Gill for his elegance, Chopra added that the Gujarat Titans opener lost his wicket to the only bad shot he played, elaborating:

"The one guy who scored a half-century should have got Player of the Match. How well the guy plays - the elegance and the beautiful fashion in which he plays. He got out at the wrong time, got out while playing a wrong shot, in fact that was the only bad shot he played."

Gill was castled by Sam Curran when the Gujarat Titans needed six runs off five deliveries. Rahul Tewatia then hit a boundary off the penultimate ball when the defending champions required four runs off two balls to seal the win.

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"There is a question there" - Aakash Chopra on Mohit Sharma being chosen Player of the Match in Gujarat Titans' win against Punjab Kings

Mohit Sharma replaced Yash Dayal in the Gujarat Titans' starting XI. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra praised Rashid Khan and Alzarri Joseph for bowling excellent spells. He was unsure whether Mohit Sharma deserved to be the Player of the Match, saying:

"If we talk about the bowling, Rashid Khan and Alzarri Joseph were brilliant. Mohit Sharma made a comeback and he was given the Player of the Match. There is a question there."

The cricketer-turned-commentator reasoned:

"If you see from his viewpoint, it is right, 18 runs in four overs and picked up two wickets. But the truth is also that you didn't bowl in the powerplay and bowled just one over at the death. So if we see from that angle, no one was moving in the middle overs, they were going at a snail's pace."

Mohit bowled three overs on the trot after being introduced into the attack in the 11th over and also bowled the penultimate over of the innings. He was probably chosen ahead of Gill as the Player of the Match because the opening batter couldn't finish the game and lost his wicket at a crucial moment.