28 May,2023 08:04 AM IST | Mumbai | A Correspondent
Gujarat Titans`s Shubman Gill celebrates his century against Mumbai Indians in the Qualifier 2 at Ahmedabad on Friday. Pic/AFP
Gill notched up his third ton in four games on Friday. All three were match-winning knocks. The last of the lot came against MI in the second Qualifier. Put into bat on a flat deck, Gill's ton included seven fours and 10 sixes and a strike rate of 215.00. The effort took GT to 233-3, batting MI out of the game. This knock made him the highest run-scorer of the season. He also is the batter with the most number of centuries this season.
Royal Challengers Bangalore's Virat Kohli celebrates his century against Gujarat Titans in Bangalore on May 21. Pic/PTI
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Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB), India's batting icon smashed a brilliant unbeaten century against Gujarat Titans in the final league game of the season. His knock came when it mattered the most, as RCB needed a win in order to make it to the Playoffs. While RCB did not qualify, Kohli's ton in the first innings gave them the perfect platform to do so. This was Kohli's seventh IPL hundred, the most by any player.
Gujarat Titans's Gill was the reason RCB did not qualify for the Playoffs despite a Kohli century in the final league game. Chasing a target of 198, Gill one-upped his India teammate, smashing a scintillating unbeaten ton at a strike rate of 200.00, to seal the game with five balls to spare.
Australian all-rounder Green showed why he is considered one of the biggest upcoming talents in world cricket at the moment with a power-packed ton right when Mumbai Indians (MI) needed it. Playing Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last game of the season, MI had to win to have any chance of qualifying. And they were set to chase a stiff target of 201 runs. Green's onslaught, including eight fours and as many sixes, striking at 212.77, meant that MI chased the target with two overs to spare. MI ended up making the Playoffs too.
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The only silver lining for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) all season was Klaasen, who was the Rock of Gibraltar in an otherwise underperforming batting line-up. On this occasion, he carried SRH to a solid total of 186 after the other batters had failed to give them a start yet again, smashing eight fours and six sixes along the way.
This was the first of Kohli's two hundreds this season and much celebrated by all as India's batting icon had scored an IPL ton for the first time since 2019. His century negated Klaasen's efforts in the first innings. He smashed 12 fours and four sixes along the way. Kohli shared a 172-run partnership with Faf du Plessis which meant RCB had almost chased the total before even losing a wicket.
Batting first while playing at home, the stage was set for GT's Gill to thump his first IPL ton. But what made this knock special was the fact that almost all batters from both teams failed to perform, indicating that it was a tough pitch to bat on. His ton helped GT post a match-winning total of 188-9 as he was later adjudged player of the match.
On a difficult Delhi pitch, Punjab Kings opener Prabhsimran Singh carried his team to 167-7 with a boundary-laden 103 (10 fours and six sixes). Nobody else in the PBKS line-up managed more than 20 runs, showing the value of the knock. Delhi could only manage a total of 136.
Star MI batter Suryakumar, well known for his scintillating T20 batting, had a sluggish start to the season, but came to the party towards the fag end. He scored a couple of half-centuries to begin with and added a cherry on top with a blistering 103 at home, striking at 210.20. He bludgeoned the GT bowlers for 11 fours and six sixes including a six off the final delivery of the innings to reach his century. It helped MI post a mammoth 218-5 and eventually win by 27 runs. His form was a big reason for MI's qualification into the Playoffs.
Another rising young talent, Yashasvi Jaiswal was fabulous throughout the season for Rajasthan Royals (RR), doing the bulk of the scoring with 625 runs to his name. The 124 by him in Mumbai is the highest individual score in this IPL so far. Jaiswal struck a whopping 16 fours and eight sixes which made up for 112 of the 124 runs. Despite RR losing the match, Jaiswal's outstanding effort earned him the player of the match award.
Kolkata Knight Riders's (KKR) Iyer scored a ton playing away against MI, again, when everybody else failed to get going. While KKR lost the match, his century, with six fours and nine sixes, was the only reason they stood a chance, posting 185-6. He was later adjudged player of the match.
Englishman Brook showed why he is rated so highly when he became the first centurion of this season, smashing 12 fours and three sixes on his way there. Brook carried his bat through as SRH posted a massive match-winning total of 228-4.
