Ahmedabad,Ā May 20: It was a grand entry into the IPL playoffs for former champions Gujarat Titans, who crushed Delhi Capitals by 10 wickets on Sunday, and skipper Shubman Gill said the team’s focus now is on carrying this momentum through its final two league matches and into the knockout stage.Opener Sai Shudharsan smashed a 61-ball unbeaten 108 and Gill hit a clinical 93 not out off 53 deliveries to help chase down DC’s target of 200 runs with six deliveries to spare.
“Feels great to get the Q (qualification), but still two important games left. Carrying momentum is important. I’ve talked about being a batter, think as one without worrying about captaincy,” Gill said at the post match presentation.
He added that that when he comes out to bat, he doesn’t carry the burden of captaincy after learning it the hard way last year.
Found it (captaincy) challenging last year, learnt how to manage it late in the season. Our fielding had been below par, we’d dropped a lot of catches, we reflected on that and worked on it during the break,” said Gill.
He said that when someone like Sudharsan is batting beautifully at the other end, things become that much easier on the field and the understanding grows.
“When you’re in form, someone like Sai who’s converting starts, you don’t talk much. You just talk about what’s required. When in flow, you just need to make sure you don’t get carried away.
Gill added the enforced break due to the Indo-Pakistan military tensions gave him time to recover.
“I’d gotten sick, the break helped me recover.”
GT assistant coach Parthiv Patel said the openers’ “low-risk game” and the “chemistry” between them had helped the side make a statement this season.
The two openers are now leading the run-scoring charts with 609 and 594 runs respectively.
“We’ve batted and played really well throughout, going into the playoffs is a reward for how well we’ve done. Openers play low-risk cricket, still they have the ability to hit down the ground and find boundaries.
“The fours they hit during the game especially. They know their game, they put a lot of work in strengthening their basics which shows. They communicate well, last year they batted brilliantly.
“Opening pair is about chemistry and knowing each other’s games well which they do.”
He credited head coach Ashish Nehra’s leadership for GT’s success.
“He’s been fantastic and is the reason why we’re right up there,” added Parthiv.