Who said What - Top 3 expert comments on Shubman Gill's 2nd century in IPL 2023
Gujarat Titans (GT) opening batter Shubman Gill has been the talk of the town since his incredible century against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the side's final league stage match in Bangalore on May 21.
The century was Gill's second in as many matches after the 23-year-old smashed his maiden IPL ton against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in GT's penultimate game.
Chasing a daunting target of 198 for victory, the right-handed batter treated the RCB bowlers with disdain and completed his century and the winning runs by smoking a six off the first ball of the final over of the contest.
His century came from just 52 deliveries and included five boundaries and eight sixes as he became the fourth batter in IPL history to score back-to-back centuries.
Shubman Gill has scored 680 runs in 14 matches this season at an average of 56.67 and a strike rate of 152.47, with two centuries and four half-centuries. He is second behind only RCB skipper Faf du Plessis on the Orange Cap list for the highest run-scorers of the season.
The 23-year-old also became the first batter from GT to complete 1000 runs in the clash against SRH on May 15. Gill played a substantial role in the franchise's title run a year ago, scoring 483 runs at an average of 34.50 and a strike rate of 132.33.
The Punjab-born cricketer has been in tremendous form over the last four seasons of the IPL, breaching the 400-mark on each occasion. He has been in scintillating form in 2023 for Team India, scoring close to 1000 runs at an average of 61.25 with five centuries across formats.
Gill's inimitable batting through 2023 has several experts and fans hailing the youngster for his incredible batting in all formats.
With that said, Let us look at the top three expert comments on Shubman Gill's 2nd century in IPL 2023.
#1 Brett Lee
Former Australian pacer Brett Lee spoke highly of Shubman Gill's timing and ability to find power using his wrists after his second IPL century against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Gill smashed eight sixes in his unbeaten 104 off 52 deliveries and led the Gujarat Titans to a successful run chase of 198, eliminating RCB from the playoff qualification.
Speaking to Jio Cinemas on Shubman Gill's knock, Lee said:
"He hit eight sixes. I love how he goes on the leg side. He finds power. That he can do and access because he’s got strong wrists and he’s got beautiful timing."
Gill's ability to hit sixes has improved tremendously this season, with the right-hander smashing 22 biggies in 14 matches compared to the 11 he hit last season.
#2 Harbhajan Singh
Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh sang the praises of Shubman Gill after his second consecutive century helped GT chase down 198 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
Harbhajan felt that while Gill can play all the shots with the same ease as former Indian skipper Virat Kohli, he appears less aggressive and more elegant while at it.
Speaking to Star Sports Cricket Live, the 42-year-old said:
"Shubman Gill constructs his innings brilliantly. He has his own persona and possesses that lazy elegance, unlike intense Virat Kohli. He can play all kinds of shots with ease just like Kohli, but he won't appear as aggressive as Kohli with his body language. He is a different character. He's such a prospective talent for India."
The duo of Gill and Kohli smashed brilliant centuries for their respective sides in the GT-RCB contest. However, the youngster took lesser deliveries to reach the landmark while smoking seven more sixes than King Kohli.
#3 Sunil Gavaskar
Former Indian Great Sunil Gavaskar felt that Shubman Gill's breathtaking century against RCB should make all the headlines over the T20I side for the future and Virat Kohli's presence in it going forward.
Despite both Kohli and Gill smashing terrific centuries, Gavaskar hailed the latter for being able to outdo what Kohli had done earlier in the game.
Speaking to India Today, the former Indian opener said:
"What we should be talking about is Shubman Gill's batting because he got a hundred under pressure. I don't think we should be concerned about the selection for T20 because the next T20I, at least as far as the World Cup is concerned is more than a year away. So I don't think we should be too concerned about it because what that man Shubman Gill did yesterday (Sunday) was simply breathtaking."
"To be able to bat better than what Virat Kohli had done takes something special and that's what he did," Gavaskar added. "Kohli's innings earlier was unbelievable, absolutely terrific. While it was more about power hitting, with Shubman Gill it was so smooth, it was so elegant, there was not a foot put wrong. It was just sublime batting."
Shubman Gill scored his maiden T20I century earlier in the year against New Zealand in Ahmedabad to help India win the series 2-1.
In seven innings this season, Gill has been in devastating form at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, scoring 404 runs at an average of 67.3 and a strike rate of 161.
GT should hope that the 23-year-old can replicate his form at the venue should they qualify for the IPL 2023 final slated to be played at Ahmedabad.