Shubman Gill, Mohit Sharma help GT overpower MI in Qualifier 2

Defending champions Gujarat Titans entered the Indian Premier League (IPL) final for the second consecutive season after scoring 62 runs in Qualifier 2 in Ahmedabad on Friday.

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So the Hardik Pandya-led team has a chance to make it two out of two since winning the title in the first game of the cash-rich series last year.

Opening batsman Shubman Gill starred in another win for the Titans, hitting his best T20 score of 129 off just 60 deliveries to power GT to a commanding 233/3. This was after MI skipper Rohit Sharma opted to field after a heavy shower forced the toss to be delayed by 45 minutes, with play starting at 8 pm local time.

In reply, MI made a remarkable recovery from a shaky start thanks to Suryakumar Yadav’s elegant 38-ball 61 accompanied by supporting acts from Tilak Verma (43 off 14) and Cameron Green (30 off 20), but fell short after SKY’s. Mohit Sharma’s bowling dismissal. Mohit would then complete the pick of the bowlers with real figures of 5/10.

Gill can’t stop tearing Mumbai to shreds

Gill and Wriddhiman Saha got Gujarat off to a positive start, with the pair completing the 50-run opening partnership inside the powerplay. Gill was given life while batting on 30 after Tim David took a tough chance off the bowling of Chris Jordan. Meanwhile,​​​​Saha would be leaving soon after the fielding restrictions were lifted, Piyush Chawla broke the stand by stopping the Bengal keeper-batsman.

From then on, however, it was Gujarat all the way until the end of the innings when Gill launched a shrewd attack on the Mumbai bowlers that took the game away from them. The change in momentum happened during the ninth over when Gill Chawla smashed a straight six for 16 runs.

He would then make mincemeat of Akash Madhwal, who was in MI’s 81-run hammering of Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator with a 5/5 draw, and Chawla in the 12th and 13th overs, who took Gujarat by 21 and 20 runs respectively. . Two overs later, Gill would take off his helmet again as he celebrated his third century in four overs to set the stage for a massive total for the Titans.

Gill hit 10 sixes and seven fours in his innings of 215, and would eventually be dismissed by Madhwal’s bowling, with David – the man who had given him an edge early in the innings – holding on to the catch at midwicket. . By then, however, Gujarat already had one foot in the final.

Mohit trumps Surya, who registers the best IPL haul

Mumbai were in trouble even before they faced a delivery in their pursuit as wicketkeeper-batsman and opener Ishan Kishan had to leave the field after being hit on the eye by Jordan’s elbow in the 16th over of Gujarat’s innings. , with Impact Player Nehal Wadhera launched. to open the innings side skipper Rohit.

Both Rohit (8) and Wadhera (4) would be dismissed for single-figure scores in successive overs by Mohammed Shami, allowing GT to seize control immediately. Between the two dismissals, in-form Cameron Green, who got off the mark with a boundary off his first delivery, retired injured after being hit on the left forearm by a bouncer from skipper Pandya’s GT.

However, Tilak Verma and Suryakumar Yadav revived Mumbai’s chase with an aggressive third-wicket stand of 51 off just 22 deliveries. Verma was very tough on off-spinner Shami, smashing him for consecutive fours followed by a brace and a six in 24 runs – the most expensive of the day. He would collect a boundary off Rashid Khan in the following over, but he would be dismissed off the last ball of the powerplay for a 14-ball 43.

However, Mumbai got a big boost as Green decided to work his way back into the middle. Australia’s aggressive approach put pressure on SKY and the duo went on a sensational scoring spree off the GT bowlers to keep MI in the hunt through the middle overs. The pair collected three boundaries between them in Rashid’s second over as the Afghans were bowled out for 15 in the second over, with Mumbai looking solid at 110/3 at the halfway stage.

Green, however, was not deterred by Irish seamer Josh Little, who replaced Dasun Shanaka in the squad before veteran seamer Mohit Sharma dislodged Surya’s leg stump with a brilliant delivery that managed to beat his blade and the star-shaped batter for one of his part. signed ramp over fine leg, dashing Mumbai’s hopes in the process. The 34-year-old seamer would get rid of Vishnu Vinod two balls later to make it a double-wicket over, reducing MI to 156/6.

Tim David, who pulled off a miraculous run against Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium, was caught LBW by Rashid in his final over before Mohit outwitted the rest of the Mumbai batting line-up to register his career-best T20 haul.

Summary Scores:

Gujarat Titans 233/3 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 129, Sai Sudharsan 43, Hardik Pandya 28; Piyush Chawla 1/45) won Mumbai Indians 171 in 18.2 (Suryakumar Yadav 61, Tilak Verma 43, Cameron Green 30; Mohit Sharma 5/10, Rashid Khan 2/33) by 62 runs.

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