Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Shubman Gill celebrated aggressively after his counterpart Hardik Pandya's dismissal in the IPL 2024 clash against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Sunday (March 24) in Ahmedabad.
It was a crucial moment in the game for GT as MI had the edge in the chase at that juncture with Hardik Pandya at the crease. Going into the final over of the match, Mumbai needed 19 runs to win. Hardik then hit a six and four off the first two balls against Umesh Yadav, bringing the equation down to a manageable 9 runs from 4 balls.
Umesh then bowled a quick and short third ball, which hurried Pandya, who could not get the required power behind his shot. He ended up offering a simple catch to Rahul Tewatia at the long-on region. Shubman Gill was ecstatic after the fall of the wicket as Pandya was the last recognized batter left and his wicket put GT on the brink of victory.
You can watch Shubman Gill's reaction to Hardik Pandya's wicket in the video below:
GT batted first in the match and managed to notch up a decent score of 168/6 on a two-paced surface. Sai Sudharsan (45) and Shubman Gill (31) were the top performers for the hosts in the batting department, while Jasprit Bumran starred on his IPL comeback for MI with a highly economical three-wicket spell (3-14).
MI then looked good to go over the line in the chase as Rohit Sharma (43) and Dewald Brevis (46) set up a good platform. However, their middle and lower order failed to capitalize and crumbled in the death overs. They could only reach 162/9 and lost the match by six runs.
"The way the boys held their nerves and how we bowled at the death was magnificent" - GT captain Shubman Gill after win vs MI
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill applauded his bowlers for keeping their composure in the death overs and taking their team over the line even when there was a lot of dew. Reflecting on the win, Gill said:
"The way the boys held their nerves and how we bowled at the death was magnificent, especially with the dew coming in. Was outstanding. There was a lot of dew, even with it the way our spinners bowled, especially Rashid and Sai, they made sure we were in the game always. It was all about putting the pressure and holding our nerves in the end."
He continued:
"We just wanted to give them a bit of pressure, that was the talk in the middle. The crowd is one thing that has always come - irrespective of a day or night game. I thought 170 was a good score, but we let 15 runs out there. They were also going well and the score was par. It was hard to hit the older balls at the end, with the wicket being slow. That was the reason why we got through in the end.
GT will next face CSK on Tuesday (March 26) at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai.
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