Gill scored his third century of this edition of the IPL, a 60-ball 129, which led Gujarat to a victory of defending the title they won in their debut season last year.
GT (233/3) beat Mumbai (171 overall) by 62 runs and will take on MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings in the final on Sunday. Mohit Sharma (5/10) starred with the ball for GT with a haul of five wickets.
Rohit said that Gill made the difference in their loss to Gujarat Titans in IPL Qualifier 2 in Ahmedabad and he hoped the opening match would continue his purple stain in the colors of India.
He end of the world trade center begins June 7 at The Oval.
“Shubman batted well, the wicket was good. They got 20-25 extra. We were positive after the first half. We have to give Shubman credit. I hope he continues that way,” he said.
Rohit said Suryakumar Yadav and Cameron Green raised some hope with their partnership, but he felt MI lost the game on the power play while chasing.
“Greeny and Surya hit well, but we lost our way. We wanted to give him a good chance, be positive. We couldn’t get on the power play. We wanted a batsman, like Gujarat did, and take the game deep where anything can happen in a good field and in a terrain with a small limit. But thanks to GT, that played well”, said.
The IM captain said Ishan Kishan’s concussion did not help the team in their pursuit either.
“Kishan’s concussion was unexpected. It was a last-minute change. We had to adapt to different conditions and situations. However, we didn’t look at it,” he said.
He preferred to get positive things out of the campaign despite not qualifying for the final.
“Playing this game, qualifying and going this far is great, the batting has been very positive that we can carry into next season. Every bowling team has been challenged.
“We had a great performance last game. Tim (David) has been given a role this season,” he said.
Winning captain Hardik Pandya said Gill’s clarity of thought in hitting is helping him rack up runs.
“I think the clarity and confidence he has is amazing. Today’s inning was one of the best, he was never rushed. It felt like someone was throwing balls and he was batting. He’s going to be a superstar in international cricket and franchise”. Hardik said.
(With inputs from the agency)
