Mumbai Indians head coach Mark Boucher admitted that Gujarat Titans opener Shubman Gill played a phenomenal inning against them in Qualifier 2, which kept them out of making it into the grand final on Sunday against Chennai Super Kings in the famous Narendra Modi Stadium.
The young Indian opener, who is already touted to be the next big thing in Indian Cricket, has been in the form of life since the start of the 2023 season, proving to be a vital cog for the Indian team in all three formats, as once again proved his worth in the crucial match against five-time champions producing match-winning innings of 129 runs off 60 balls to score his third century in this edition of IPL 2023.
Speaking to the media after their loss against Gujarat Titans, MI head Coach Mark Boucher accepted that their team was outplayed by the opponents in Qualifier 2, as the young sensation Gill was terrific with the bat and their bowlers could not execute the plans on the given day.
“Unfortunately, the T20 game is tough at times and we were outplayed. Gill played a fantastic inning, and unfortunately, we couldn’t execute through the night, which happens in T20 cricket,” Mark Boucher Said
Mumbai Indians had a few chances in the field but they failed to capitalize on the opportunities, as the Indian opener made full use of his chances to help Gujarat Titans’ mammoth total of 233-3 at the end of 20 overs
Shubman Gill was at his absolute best for the word-go for the defending champions on Friday, as he took on the Mumbai Indians bowlers all around the park which includes 7 fours and 10 sixes, as the MI bowlers found no way to stop the Indian opener in his favourite hunting ground in Ahmedabad.
I Think Our Batting This Season Was Fantastic – Mark Boucher On MI’s Positives In IPL 2023
Mark Boucher feels that their batters were fantastic throughout the season and pointed out their batting improvement for last season, which they tried to work on from the beginning of the season, as their intent to score runs in the powerplay has drastically improved from the last seasons and reckons that the team played some positive throughout the season, which will give them the confidence do well in next season.
“I think our batting this season was fantastic. We went out at the beginning of the season and we looked at our stats and thought we could improve in certain phases of the game.
“So, if you look at how we did in the powerplays compared to last season, from 7 to 10, you know we upped the scoring rates and we played a good positive brand of cricket, which will stand us in good stead because the guys will gain a lot of confidence from that,” Mark Boucher added.
Mumbai Indian could not cross the line in the chase, despite starting with positive intent as Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav batted brilliantly before losing their wickets in a hurry to chase the biggest total in the IPL playoffs as the team was bowled out 171 runs, losing the game by 62 runs at the end.