On April 9th, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat Titans (GT) all-rounder Vijay Shankar played an outstanding innings of 63 runs off only 24 balls to help his team achieve a strong finish against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). After choosing to bat first, the Titans had a good start, and Sai Sudharsan’s impressive fifty set the foundation for a large total. However, they needed an exceptional ending to surpass the 200-run mark, and Shankar rose to the challenge.
Batting at number five, ahead of David Miller and Rahul Tewatia, Shankar wasted no time settling in after coming to the crease at the fall of Abhinav Manohar’s wicket, with the score at 118/3 in the 14th over. The Tamil Nadu all-rounder attacked the KKR bowlers immediately and played a flurry of remarkable shots on his way to a spectacular 63.
But Shankar’s heroics reached their peak in the final over, facing Shardul Thakur, as he smashed three consecutive sixes. He began his onslaught on the third ball of the over, pulling a back-of-length delivery over deep mid-wicket for a six, completing his fifty off only 21 deliveries. He then hit a knuckle-ball from Shardul over long-on for another six before finishing his hat-trick of sixes with an excellent shot that cleared the deep mid-wicket boundary.
In the last few overs for Gujarat Titans, Shankar was unstoppable, hitting almost everything that came his way. He was in a remarkable form, smashing two boundaries and a six against Lockie Ferguson in the 19th over before completely dominating Thakur in the final over. With Shankar’s brilliant contribution, Gujarat Titans managed to achieve their highest-ever total in IPL history, posting a formidable 204/4 on the scoreboard.
This is the first time the defending champions have scored more than 200 runs since their debut in the tournament last year. Although their captain Hardik Pandya was unavailable for the match against KKR due to illness, the Titans remain in a commanding position to secure their third straight victory of the season under the leadership of Rashid Khan, in the absence of Pandya. If they manage to win against Nitish Rana-led KKR, they will further cement their position in the ongoing tournament.