Did we just witness the most attractive and impactful of the 87 centuries scored in the history of the IPL over 16 seasons?
Before this season, no one from the Gujarat Titans had scored an IPL ton. All of a sudden, Shubman Gill, the Prince of Indian cricket, all of 23 years old, has scored three of them in his last four innings – 101 (58) at a strike-rate of 174.13, 104* (52) at a strike-rate of 200, and 129 (60) at a strike-rate of 215.
Remember that before the first ton, he was stranded on 94 not out from 51 balls, and at the presentation ceremony, he had confidently stated that there were a few more games in the season for him to score an IPL century. And boy, did he make the most of that confidence!
He is the youngest to score a century in an IPL playoff game and he now has the highest individual score in the playoffs.
With this innings, he has also snatched the Orange cap from Faf Du Plessis. If his team gets to the final and he scores another 123 runs, he will not only equal Virat Kohli’s and Jos Buttler’s record of four tons in a season, but also shatter Kohli’s record for the most runs in a season.
Irrespective of the records, it’s the consistency, gorgeousness, timing, and innovativeness of his strokeplay, and the impact of his game on his team, that makes this ultra-special for me.
For now, everyone in the cricketing world is hoping that we can watch another Gill special on Sunday. As for tomorrow, the Instagram world will surely enjoy another stylish, post-century selfie.
Hail the most ‘attractive’ Gen-Z batsman of our times!