Former India head coach Ravi Shastri lavished admiration on opener Shubman Gill as Gujarat Titans (GT) beat Delhi Capitals (DC) by 14 runs in their IPL 2022 encounter.
The 22-year-old was dismissed for a duck in GT's opening encounter of the season, but he bounced back against DC with a magnificent knock of 84 runs in 46 balls to help his team put on 170/6 against a strong bowling attack.
Ravi Shastri praised him as a "pure talent" and claimed he is one of India's and the world's most talented cricketers.
"He is pure talent. That guy is one of the most talented players in this country and in world cricket, to be honest. Once he gets going, he will score and he makes it look easy. He has got that punch, he's got the time and he has got the power to clear the ground," Shastri told host broadcasters Star Sports.
"He is just made for this format of the game. It's just his shot selection, his rotation of the strike which he talked about himself. Very few dot balls today which took the pressure off him. And he's the guy who'll put the bad balls away. He is very good on the short ball, the short-arm jab we saw in this inning of his. And this will do his confidence a world of good," Shastri said of his knock.
For the Titans, Lockie Ferguson was the standout bowler, taking four wickets, including that of Dc captain Rishabh Pant, while Mohammad Shami struck twice in the 18th over as DC was reduced to 157/9 in their chase.
