Shubman Gill top scored for GT in their final win over RR.
Asked to bowl first, GT restricted RR to a below-par 130/9 on the back of captain Hardik Pandya’s outstanding bowling figures of 3 for 17 in his four overs.
In reply, GT got over the line in 18.1 overs. Opener Shubman Gill top scored with 45* while Hardik and David Miller contributed 34 and 32* respectively.
Speaking after the game, Gill, who hit the winning six off Obed McCoy over deep square leg, said winning the IPL is just as big as winning the Under-19 World Cup.
"It means a lot. After winning the under-19 World Cup, winning the IPL is just as big," he stated.
Shubman Gill was associated with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) from 2018 to 2021. Since he was released by KKR, GT picked him as one of their three draft picks for INR 7 crores ahead of the IPL 2022 mega-auction.
The 22-year-old didn’t let his franchise down as he finished the season with 483 runs at a strike rate of 132.32.
"It is my fourth year. I wanted to be there till the end and that was the talk with the coaches. Glad I took them over the line," the opening batter said.
Gill was effusive in praise for the GT bowlers, who restricted RR to a paltry total. Apart from Hardik, Rashid Khan (1-18) and Sai Kishore (2-20) returned with impressive bowling figures.
"Our bowlers bowled really well to restrict them to 130. We wanted to keep them under 150 but fortunately it was much lesser," Gill concluded.
(With ANI inputs)