"Take this Ahmedabad pitch for the WTC final" - Aakash Chopra lauds Shubman Gill's knock in Gujarat Titans' IPL 2023 win vs Lucknow Super Giants

Aakash Chopra has lauded Shubman Gill for continuing his run-scoring spree in Ahmedabad during the Gujarat Titans' (GT) IPL 2023 win against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

Gill smashed an unbeaten 94 off 51 balls as Hardik Pandya and Co. set a 228-run target after being asked to bat first at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, May 7. Their bowlers then restricted the visitors to 171/7 to help their team register a comprehensive 56-run win.

While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra heaped praise on Gill for playing a match-defining knock, elaborating:

"Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha played extremely well. Saha couldn't score a century but Shubman too couldn't score a century but that's okay. You don't need a century. You need to bow down to such a knock because the player is very good."

The former Indian opener added:

"I am saying take this Ahmedabad pitch for the WTC final because Shubman Gill doesn't get out on this pitch at all. He is just incredible the way he bats on this surface."

Chopra was particularly appreciative of the Gujarat Titans opener for keeping his ego at bay in Wriddhiman Saha's company and then pressing on the accelerator as his innings progressed, explaining:

"The thing I liked about Shubman is that he said that he does not have any ego. He allowed Saha to hit and played cautiously. Then once he (Gill) started hitting, I think he had six sixes at one stage but not a single boundary."

Gill struck two fours and seven sixes during his 94-run knock. He strung together a 142-run first-wicket partnership in just 12 overs with Saha (81 off 43) to give the defending champions the early ascendancy in the game.

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"Why are you not writing 'Q' in front of GT's name?" - Aakash Chopra on the Gujarat Titans' playoff qualification prospects

The Gujarat Titans consolidated their position atop the IPL 2023 points table. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra also pointed out that the Gujarat Titans are virtually through to the playoffs even if it is not yet official, reasoning:

"Why are you not writing 'Q' in front of GT's name? It is because this tournament is going differently. There are seven teams at the moment who have 10 or more points and the bottom three teams can also reach 16 points. It has happened only once in this tournament's history when a team hasn't qualified with 16 points."

The Titans have 16 points to their name with three games to play. While they are almost guaranteed a playoff berth, they would want to finish in the top two to enhance their chances of making it through to the final.