Shubman Gill celebrates with his family© X (formerly Twitter)
It was a huge occasion for Shubman Gill as he registered his first win as skipper of Gujarat TItan after his team defeated Mumbai Indians in their opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Gill was appointed as GT skipper after Hardik Pandya had completed a trade from GT to MI. Incidentally, his first win came against a Hardik-led MI side and his captaincy was praised by several fans and pundits. Following the win, he shared an emotional moment with his father and sister after returning to the team hotel and video of the entire exchange has gone viral on social media.
An inexplicable batting strategy by Mumbai Indians at the death saw Shubman Gill make a promising debut as captain of the Gujarat Titans with a thrilling six-run win in their opening match of the IPL on Sunday.
Jasprit Bumrah (14/3) was at his best in his first IPL match in two years, using his express yorkers at will to help Mumbai Indians restrict Gujarat Titans to 168/6.
Shubman Gill receives hugs and kisses from his father and sister after winning his first match as captain.
– A beautiful video!pic.twitter.com/UhA4oODBed
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 25, 2024
But Bumrah’s effort was not enough as batters like Tilak Varma and skipper Hardik Pandya failed to complement his brilliance.
MI finished on 162/9 as things went downhill, needing only 43 runs from the last five overs with seven wickets in hand.
So MI failed to break the jinx of the opening match. The last time they won their IPL opener was against Chennai Super Kings, way back in 2012.
While spinners Rashid Khan (0/23 in 4 overs) and R Sai Kishore (1/24) gave very little with the ball despite the dew, veteran Mohit Sharma (2/32) used his variations with different types of slower deliveries to smooth the proceedings. to change the match.
Spencer Johnson (2/25) and Umesh Yadav (2/32) were brilliant in bowling the 19th and 20th over, while Hardik Pandya relegating himself to number 7 in the batting order is something that needs explanation. He did hit a six and four in the last over, but Umesh had the last laugh.
(With PTI inputs)
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