Stuart Broad criticised GT for their strategy with Shubman Gill, but also praised the opener’s knock against PBKS.
It was a proper thriller on Thursday as Punjab Kings edged past Gujarat Titans to win by three wickets in their IPL 2024 fixture, in Ahmedabad. At one point it looked GT were cruising to an easy win, but in came Shashank Singh and PBKS rode on the 32-year-old’s unbeaten knock of 61 runs off 29 balls, reaching 200/7 in 19.5 overs, in their chase of 200.
Gujarat Titans’ captain Shubman Gill goes for a six.(PTI)
Before the second innings, Shubman Gill had a big impact with the bat for GT. The opener bounced back to form, smacking an unbeaten knock of 89 runs off 48 balls, packed with six fours and four sixes. The GT captain was in sizzling form, in stark contrast to his performance in the previous games of this season.
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But it wasn’t enough as Shashank’s heroics sent PBKS to a sensational win. Speaking after the match, England legend Stuart Broad felt that GT could have won the match if Shubman wasn’t ‘starved of the strike in the power play and death overs’.
Stuart Broad on Shubman Gill
Speaking on Star Sports, he said, “He played some beautiful shots as well, particularly a six off Rabada where he hit it dead straight. Just a classical beautiful cricket shot. But I just think they would have won the game, actually, if Shubman Gill had faced 60 balls, you see there he faced 48 getting 89. He just got a bit starved of the strike in the power play and then starved of the strike in the last couple of overs.”
“But he’s a high-quality player and, you know, for someone taking on such responsibility, captaining a franchise at his age to be able to go up, I think that means will mean a huge amount to him. Actually, although he didn’t get 100 to have to go and lead from the front and and set a good total, it was a good total. It didn’t end up being a match winning total. But it was, you know, any time he set 200 in a T20 game, you know, you’ve put it well,” he further added.
During his knock, Shashank smacked six fours and four sixes and was well-supported by Impact Player Ashutosh Sharma, who hammered 31 off 17 balls. GT posted a competitive score, with Gill well-supported by Rahul Tewatia and Sai Sudharsan.
But maybe it wasn’t enough as PBKS trumped their bowling department. Shikhar Dhawan was removed by Umesh Yadav early, followed by Jonny Bairstow and Prabhsimran Singh reviving the chase for PBKS. Then a stunning spell by Noor Ahmad turned the tide for GT, as he removed Bairstow and Prabhsimran. Then Sam Curran failed to make an impact and Sikandar Raza struggled too. But Shashank kept up the pressure with his brilliant shot selection.
Jitesh tried to support Shashank, but got caught off a full toss. Then, Ashutosh made a real impact. For GT, Mohit Sharma had only conceded 22 in his first three overs, but leaked 18 in the penultimate over. Seven was needed in the final over and Darshan Nalkande was given the responsibility. He removed Ashutosh in the first ball, but failed to overcome Shashank.
