Kolkata Knight Riders’ Shubman Gill hits maiden fifty of IPL career

Shubman Gill came off age in a match that was supposed to be about MS Dhoni. He reached his maiden IPL 50 off 32 balls with fiuve fours and two sixes. (KKR v CSK UPDATES | SCORECARD)

Gill showed maturity way beyond his 18 years anchoring Kolkata Kinght Riders’s chase of 178. He eschewed risks but didn’t let any loose balls go unpunished. The evening was studded with MS Dhoni chants but Gill ensured that the night ended with Eden roaring the home side on.

He hit three fours off Shane Watson, adjusting the pull for the first, edging the second and cutting the third. He and Rinku Singh stabilised the innings with a 33-run stand after Chris Lynn and Robin Uthappa had gone cheaply and Sunil Narine after his customary cameo.

So sure was Gill’s batting that skipper Dinesh Karthik happily played second fiddle to him. Gill greeted K Asif in the 15th over with a superb pull for six and though Ambati Rayudu almost pulled off the kind of catch that won Mumbai Indians the IPL last season, this time it went for six. The 15th over yielded 21 runs and turned the match around. And it was Gill who had played an important part in that.