Mohit Sharma made his IPL debut for Gujarat Titans against his former team Punjab Kings at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Thursday and hit the ground running. Mohit, playing his first IPL match since 2020, was right on the money with his line and length. Actually Mohit was the net bowler for GT in the last season of IPL.
After conceding only six runs in his first over, Mohit bowled two overs conceding only three runs in each. He was doing what he does best, hitting the hard length, hitting it over the off stump. Sharma returned with figures of 2-18 in his quota of four overs and thus played a key role in restricting Punjab Kings to a below-par score of 153 runs.
Thus, the right-arm pacer, who plays for Haryana in the domestic circuit, was awarded the player of the match on his IPL homecoming.
“I’ve had a good time at this venue. I thought about sticking to my variations, had a chat with Hardik in the middle overs, luckily it paid off. You have to work hard,” he said at the post-match presentation. Give your 100 per cent. Need to bowl according to the situation and stick to basics. I was given the role to bowl after 10 overs. Credit goes to the coach who defined everyone’s role in the team Have done.
Shubman Gill, on the other hand, scored 67 runs in 49 balls with the help of seven fours and a six. Gill admitted that it was a challenging wicket as runs were not coming at a fast pace.
Gill said after the game, ‘The wicket became a bit challenging in the end. It was difficult to hit sixes with the old ball. It is a big ground. It was important to keep hitting the intervals, run as hard as possible. I should have finished the match. Rahul Tewatia and Kings XI is a love story. There is definitely pressure on both the teams in these types of games. It’s all about trying to reduce the dot balls. It was also difficult for him to score runs against the old ball. Had to have a good powerplay. We ticked that box. It was not a big score. It was important to keep hitting singles. He was looking good in the nets as well (Mohit). He has a good yorker. He bowled brilliantly using the boundary with the slower ball. GT had a great start for him.
Gujarat Titans will be happy with their win against PBKS as they came up with a collective show. The defending champions will next take on Rajasthan Royals at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.