Shubman Gill played a key role with the bat in Gujarat Titans’ (GT) five-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL 2023 opener at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Friday (March 31).

Chasing 179 to win, Gill provided GT with an ideal start as he played a stunning knock of 36-ball 63 while opening the innings. However, he perished in the 15th over and failed to take his team over the finishing line.

In the end, the Titans needed little cameos from Rahul Tewatia (15*) and Rashid Khan (10*) to overhaul the target with four deliveries to spare.

After the win, Shubman expressed his disappointment for not being able to finish the match.

"Felt pretty good. Little bit disappointed with myself for getting out. But getting off to a good start is very important for the team. Definitely makes a difference when you've got runs under your belt at the international level," Gill said.

He also praised Wriddhiman Saha (25 off 16 balls) for batting with "intent" at the top of the order.

"Wicket is so good as a batsman. Don't have to overhit, just have to time it well and it flies. No specific roles given to us. It's just about who gets set. We have to play the situation. We were chasing not a very high score, but a high-ish total. So the intent from Wriddhi bhai was to get as many runs as possible in the powerplay," Gill added.

Shubman Gill has taken the cricketing world by storm with his stunning exploits in 2023. The stylish right-hander has already slammed five international centuries this year, including a double ton in ODIs against New Zealand.

(India Today Inputs)