GT vs MI IPL 2023 Qualifier 2: Shubman Gill hailed by Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers after blistering 129 against Mumbai

Gujarat Titans opener Shubman Gill set Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium alight with the innings of a lifetime in IPL 2023 Qualifier 2 against Mumbai Indians on Friday, powering Gujarat Titans to a commanding score of 233/3.

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Gill, who went past Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Faf du Plessis’ run tally to become the new owner of the Orange Cap, smashed his third century in four outings, bringing up the milestone in just 49 deliveries after GT were invited to bat by MI skipper Rohit Sharma.

Gill, who was dropped by Tim David on 30 in the final over of the powerplay, reached his half-century in 32 deliveries but needed just 17 deliveries to score the next fifty in an amazing acceleration in the second half of the GT innings.

LIVE: Gujarat Titans vs Mumbai Indians, IPL 2023 Qualifier 2 in Ahmedabad

The in-form opener would make Mumbai pay dearly for the dropped chance, scoring another 99 runs before David finally made up for his mistake and collected a catch at deep midwicket off Akash Madhwal’s bowling to bring Gill’s fiery knock to an end.

Batting superstar Virat Kohli was among those hailing Gill’s knock. The former India and RCB captain shared a Story on Instagram in which he put a star emoji above an image of Gill celebrating his hundred.

Virat Kohli’s Instagram story for the star – Shubman Gill. pic.twitter.com/7lDCF20dFe

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) May 26, 2023

Cricket Twitter, meanwhile, was overflowing with praise following the blistering knock, which we take a look at in greater detail here:

SHUBMAN GILL! Wow. I don’t really have words.

— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) May 26, 2023

Even when cricket was played in the Icelandic Sagas, we did not see the sustained violence being dished out by Shubman Gill.

— Iceland Cricket (@icelandcricket) May 26, 2023

Well played, Shubman Gill! pic.twitter.com/TiwKHaFqkf

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) May 26, 2023

Mark my words…if @ShubmanGill plays like this…people will flood the stadium just to watch him bat. Like they did for #Dhoni . Like they do for #Virat and #Rohit. #GTvMI

— G. S. Vivek (@GSV1980) May 26, 2023

Shebmen Gell playing EA Cricket

— North Stand Gang – Wankhede (@NorthStandGang) May 26, 2023

What a joy it is to watch this young man bat, #SmoothmanGill ( Sunny Gavaskar ) #IPL2023 #GTvsMI