Gujarat Titans opener Shubman Gill revealed that clobbering three sixes off an over of Akash Madhwal knew it was his day. The right-handed batter's statement came after his 60-ball 129 blew Mumbai Indians away in Qualifier 2 of IPL 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Gill tore Mumbai Indians' bowling attack to shreds, hitting a 49-ball century and finishing with 129, laced with seven fours and ten towering sixes. The highest individual score of IPL 2023 meant that the Titans set a steep 233 for the opposition and eventually won by 62 runs to advance to the final.
The 23-year-old highlighted that hitting three sixes in the 12th over made him realize that he must go big and cash in on a good wicket. Speaking of hitting sixes effortlessly, Gill said the self-belief has increased exponentially this year.
"For me, it's all about playing ball to ball, assessing the situation over by over. Maybe the over in which I hit three sixes, that's when I got the momentum to go big and I realised maybe this is my day and I have to make it big, because it is a good wicket to bat on. Six-hitting is not a conscious decision. Obviously, you keep practicing, you want to keep growing, want to keep evolving as a batsman. But I feel the belief is more important and that's what I have had this year and the last year as well," the Punjab-born batter told the broadcaster after collecting the Player of the Match award.
Shubman Gill reveals the technical changes he made to his batting:
Gill further claimed that his confidence received a big boost after a productive international season and revealed how he refined his batting during an injury two years ago.
"It helps when you are coming off a good international season with runs under the belt. With me, I know it's about starting well; I know once I start, I can keep going. Last year, from the West Indies tour, that's when I shifted gears. I got injured in 2021 leading up to the IPL and I was out for a couple of months. That's when I started realising the areas to work on and made some technical changes in my batting around December, when I was called up for the New Zealand series just after the T20 World Cup."
With the final against the Chennai Super Kings set to take place in Ahmedabad as well, fans can expect another hundred from Gill.
