With their fifth win of this IPL season in the form of a four-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Thursday night, the Gujarat Titans have now climbed to the fifth spot in the points table.
In the match played at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the Bengaluru side had made a fine start with Virat Kohli hitting Kagiso Rabada for 21 runs in the second over of the innings before the Proteas removed Kohli in the fourth over. GT restricted RCB to a total of 155 in 19.2 overs before Gill and Jos Buttler set the platform early in the Titans’ innings.
When asked about what led to the win apart from the bowling, Gill shared how the team came back after Kohli hit them for some runs and how it was crucial for the team in the win.
“I think our fielding was one of the things. At phases, we have not fielded that well in the game. And I think today was one of those days when everyone came together. The energy in the field was very nice. Especially after the second over. Virat Bhai hit for some runs and how we all came back was very crucial for us,” said Gill post the match.
During his knock of 43 runs off 18 balls, Gill hit three sixes against Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazelwood. At one point in his knock, Gill was batting on 35 runs off ten balls. When asked about a conscious effort to go after the bowlers in the Powerplay, Gill shared how he felt it was his day and how it led to him taking the bowlers on. “Honestly, not really. I was just feeling like I was in the zone. And on the first ball, I got a bit lucky, and on the second one, I got into my zone. So I was like, okay, maybe today is my day. I was feeling really well. I was feeling very confident, and I was like I want to take the bowlers on,” added Gill.
Titans were once placed at 92 for 2 but then lost some quick wickets. With the side needing 47 runs from 59 balls with six wickets in hand, Rahul Tewatia ensured that the team crossed the line. Tewatia remained unbeaten on 27 runs off 17 balls and Gill lauded Tewatia’s efforts. “He (Rahul Tewatia) is a very important player for us. Very happy that he finished the game. That was one of the conversations that we had in the time-out. We lost a couple of wickets more than we would have liked. But in the end, I think he got some nice runs and everyone got some hit in the middle,” said Gill.
