Kolkata: Gujarat Titans became the first team to qualify for the playoffs in IPL 2023 with an emphatic win over Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday night.
With three more spots up for grabs, five-time champions Mumbai Indians and newbies Lucknow Super Giants take on each other tonight in Lucknow as they aim to get a step closer towards booking the playoffs berth.
Living up to their 'late bloomers' tag, MI gathered steam in the second half of the IPL 2023 and their juggernaut continues to roll. The Rohit Sharma-led side has won four of its last five games and will be aiming to pick up two vital points tonight in Lucknow.
Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag has backed star MI batter Suryakumar Yadav to be the permanent batter at number three because of his brilliance against pace and spin.
Speaking on Star Sports' Cricket Live, Sehwag opined, "SKY can be the permanent No. 3 for
Mumbai Indians because he's a good player of pace and spin. Although it all boils down to the team management (when it comes to taking such decisions), but I strongly believe he should get to face more balls."
Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh believes Mumbai Indians can very well finish amongst the top two at the end of the league stage and give themselves an extra shot at lifting their sixth IPL trophy.
Harbhajan said, "Mumbai Indians has once again proven, it is a champion side and it knows how to come back strongly. People weren't counting this MI after it was on a losing streak in the first phase of the competition, but once it returned to the winning track, there was no stopping this side. It can also finish the league stage amongst the top two. If MI ends up winning the remaining two games, it will get to 18 points. GT has 18 points already and no other team will be able to get 18 points now, except MI."
Meanwhile, young India batting sensation Shubman Gill continued to raise his stocks in IPL by slamming his maiden century in the competition.
The 22-year-old Gujarat Titans opener has been a force to reckon with in the ongoing season and left former India cricketer Harbhajan impressed with the wide range of shots in his batting repertoire.
Harbhajan said, "The speciality of Shubman Gill is that he has all kinds of shots and he chooses his shots according to the situation. When Shubman is in his rhythm, he plays pure cricketing shots and this is a testimony to how strong his batting coaching has been. He doesn't play random shots. It's a great feeling to watch Shubman's straight dives and pull shots."
Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar also lavished praise on this cricketer from Punjab and his ability to read the ball well.
Gavaskar said, "Gill has a lot of time to play shots. The reason for this is that he reads the ball well and then decides on his shot. Gill is in the right balance and his head position is good while playing any shot, and he also executes it well."
Shubman Gill, Mohd. Shami, Mohit Sharma sparkled in Ahmedabad to power Gujarat Titans into the Play-offs with a comprehensive win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in Match 62 of at the Narendra Modi Stadium..
Gill sizzled with his maiden IPL ton (101 off 58), hitting 13 fours and a six and was ably supported by Sai Sudharsan 47(36) to help GT put on a competitive 188/9 after a lion-hearted Bhuvneshwar had picked up his second IPL fifer (5/31). Shami (4/21) then ripped through the SRH top order and Mohit (4/24) scythed through the middle-order as the away team overcame a fighting effort from Heinrich Klaasen (64 off 44) to restrict SRH to 154/9 and become the first team to qualify for the Play-offs. (UNI)