Leading up to the Qualifier 2 match against Mumbai Indians, Shubman Gill of the Gujarat Titans had been in exceptional form throughout IPL 2023, accumulating 722 runs in 15 innings. With his impressive performance in Ahmedabad this year, there were high expectations for him to continue his momentum against MI, and the 23-year-old batsman did not disappoint.
He went on to score his third century of the tournament. However, had the Mumbai Indians players capitalized on the chances presented by Gill early in his innings, he might not have been able to make such a significant impact.
The first opportunity for MI came in the fifth over when Gill, batting on 30 off 18 balls, attempted a lofted on-drive. However, the ball fell just short of Tim David, who was positioned at mid-on. Although David managed to get his hands on the ball, he couldn’t hold on to the catch. Two overs later, Gill, batting on 37 off 25 balls, made a slight mistake against a flat delivery from Kumar Kartikeya, resulting in an inside edge.
The ball moved slowly back to the wicketkeeper, Ishan Kishan, after hitting Gill’s pads, allowing Gill to return to the crease before Kishan could gather the ball. In the very next ball, Gill pulled the ball towards mid-wicket, but it fell just a foot short of Tilak Verma. It was on this occasion that Gill finally found himself fortunate, being “third time lucky.”
— Spider Rashid (@RashidSpider) May 26, 2023
While Gill could only laugh at his fortunate turn of events in this crucial match, Rohit Sharma appeared frustrated to see his fellow countryman survive through such means. Fans on Twitter also reacted to Gill’s luck playing a crucial role in such an important contest.