Shubman Gill‘s third century in four Indian Premier League (IPL) matches has turned heads everywhere, with many hailing it as one of the greatest innings in the history of the tournament. Gill incredibly accelerated after the end of the powerplay in the second qualifier against Mumbai Indians, when the fielding restrictions are off and it generally becomes difficult to hit boundaries. He smashed seven fours and a whopping 10 sixes as GT batted first and scored a mammoth 233/3. They eventually ended up winning the match by 62 runs.
Gill is enjoying a breakthrough season in the IPL, following up on the good form he has hit in all formats of international cricket all year long. With the innings on Friday, the 23-year-old’s took the Orange Cap, with his tally for the season reaching 851 runs at an average of 60.79 at a strike rate of 156.43. It is the second most runs any Indian player has got in an IPL, only behind Virat Kohli’s extraordinary tally of 973 runs in the 2016 season.
Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar said that this innings just proves that Gill could be the standout batter of the coming generation, just as Kohli has been in the current era, Sachin Tendulkar was before that and Sunil Gavaskar before him. “This is when you see a player and think there is something special to offer in the future,” said Manjrekar on ESPNCricinfo.
“You look at all those years that he has played in the IPL and how quickly he has risen to the pinnacle of T20 batting, that is something few batters manage to achieve. A three-format player, he is going to be opening for India in the World Test Championship final. India gets one player every generation that stood out, maybe Shubman Gill is the guy for the next generation,” he further said.
GT captain Hardik Pandya, who was visibly stunned by many of the shots that Gill played over the course of the innings, had said after the match that it is one of the best knocks he has seen in a while. “I think the clarity he [Shubman Gill] carried, he is in a great place when it comes to the mindset. This has to be one of the best knocks I have seen in a while. He never looked in rush, he was always in control and it felt like the balls were thrown at him and he was striking them. I mean whoof!! He is a superstar and is going to do great things for both the franchise and the country,” said Pandya.
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