Shubman Gill expressed regret over the dropped catches following his team Gujarat Titans’ three-wicket defeat against Punjab Kings in the recent 18th game of the ongoing Indian Premier League 2024.
In the 17th over, Umesh Yadav dropped Ashutosh Sharma in the deep when he was batting on 3 off 3 balls. Sharma capitalized on this opportunity, going on to play a crucial innings of 31 runs from just 17 balls. In the following over, in the 18th over, Sharma received another lifeline as Sai Sudharsan couldn’t hold on to a difficult chance at long off when Sharma was batting on 16 runs.
The dropped catches proved to be costly for GT as PBKS clinched a thrilling victory. Despite GT’s strong position, with PBKS struggling at 111 for 5 in the 13th over while chasing 199, Shashank Singh’s explosive innings turned the game around. Singh smashed a fifty off just 25 balls and remained unbeaten on 61 runs off 29 balls, guiding PBKS to a stunning win with one ball to spare.
In the game’s earlier stages, Shubman Gill’s stellar unbeaten innings of 89 runs propelled GT to a formidable total of 199/4 in their allotted 20 overs. The captain’s innings, scored off 48 balls, featured six fours and four sixes. Additionally, contributions from Kane Williamson (26), Sai Sudharsan (33), and Rahul Tewatia (33* off 8 balls) proved crucial in bolstering GT’s total.
Shubman Gill Blamed This Player For Defeat Against Punjab Kings
After the game, speaking at the post-match press conference, Shubman Gill expressed his belief that the team’s total of 200 runs was sufficient to secure victory, highlighting the missed catching opportunities that impacted the outcome. Additionally, Gill praised the performances of Shashank and Sharma, acknowledging their contributions to the match. He said:
“I think a couple of catches went down, never easy (to win) when you drop catches. Bowlers did a decent job, when the ball is coming on to the bat, it’s difficult to defend, I wouldn’t say we were short (on runs). The new ball was doing something. 200 was good enough.”
He added:
“We were right in the game till about the 15th over. always under pressure with dropped catches. With the way he’s (Nalkande) bowled in the last match and with 7 runs to go, it was a no brainer for us. People who you haven’t seen will come and play knocks like these and that’s the beauty of IPL.”
