OPINION
Follow UsGill’s dilemma puts GT at a disadvantage
The approach with which Shubman Gill batted in the first three games of the season finally made many people eat their words for criticizing Gujarat Titans’ move to sign him in the pre-season trade. It was a decision, that seemed more like a long-term leadership option than driven by cricketing sense, but it was what it was. And Gill, with a couple of 90s, made sure he was definitely not just an “accumulator” but a serious T20 star in his own right.
However, the slight blip that Gill encountered after the first four games has now turned into a behemoth of sorts with the Fazilka batter scoring just 89 runs off 86 balls in the next seven assignments. At the start of the season, he was aggressive against pacers and more aggressive against the spinners but in the next 6 games, his SR against the pacers and spinners has dropped drastically. His struggles against the moving ball have become more visible. Primarily a backfoot player, Gil’s front-foot game has been exposed on lifeless decks that have undergone many shades of transformation in the last one and half months of IPL.
He needed a big score to break the drought and even started well last night, only to be dismissed while trying to go for a non-existent single. It was the sign of a player, massively underconfident at the moment and desperate to make amends. If that was the approach that could help him get there, you may ask.
The recurring pattern of Gill has also become some sort of dilemma for Gujarat Titans, who despite their brilliant run of form in the lead-up to the Tuesday encounter, can’t really claim to have a decent effort from their top-order. It was once again evident on a night when none of the batters between No.5 and No.7 clicked, Gujarat’s innings fell like a pack of cards. Unless Gill starts to take more ownership of the team’s batting, you know where the story is heading.
The Sudharsan bridge to Gujarat’s two polar opposite units
Even though they sit at the top of the table, Gujarat Titans are not really the most convincing side of the tournament. Most of their wins are bailed out magics, and in three games, they didn’t have any business winning but eventually did. Just by being more than the sum of their parts, Gujarat are threatening to take down the whole thing this year.
At the center of their success have been their finishers - David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, and Rashid Khan. It is in some ways the coming together of a dream because never in your wildest dreams could anyone have hoped Miller to have the kind of season he is having. Such has been their impact that it made a Twitter user comment that Gujarat’s finishers start at No.3 and it couldn’t have been put out in an apt manner.
However, last night’s innings by B Sai Sudharshan brought a wholesome change to the side’s approach. In an innings where only two other batters could cross the 10-run mark, Sudharshan’s batting was the biggest differentiator in the side reaching a respectable total. But more than the innings, it spoke more about how he can be the bridge the side would want to have in order to lower their dependence on the lower middle order.
In a knock of 65 runs off 50 balls, Sudharshan kept his composure against a firing Kagiso Rabada, who picked consecutive wickets of Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan in the 17th over. Just after the dismissal of David Miller, the 20-year-old knew something had to give in. A classical player, who could play long, he immediately took on Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, and Rahul Chahar to showcase his extraordinary understanding of the game situation. Surely there is a whole lot more to learn, but he went on to prove how big a blunder it was to drop him for Vijay Shankar in the early part of the season.
Rabada is shaping up nicely
17 wickets in 9 games, Kagiso Rabada is surely back at his best this season. With two consecutive four-wicket hauls in the last two games, not only has the South African speedster proven his worth but also ensured that Punjab can somehow make up for the muddled batting approach that has cost them big-time this season.
Rabada has taken a wicket in almost even 11 balls at an economy of 8.6. This season, Rabada has been impactful in all three phases as he has picked 3+ wickets in all three phases. While he has somehow not been able to get a stronghold against left-handed batters, his average of 12.6 at a strike rate of 9.9 against the right-handed batters helped Mayank Agarwal strategically use Arshdeep Singh in the death overs, adding more versatility to the bowling unit.
For the kind of season that Rabada had last year with the Delhi Capitals, it was only prudent that a makeover was necessary and nothing other than a season of wickets could have helped him achieve that. And that he married consistency to his single-handed performances further ensured that Punjab Kings can dare to dream even though the gap between the top four and the chasing pack has been widened by a fair margin.
