IPL 2023: "I told him If you bowl to me, I'll hit you for six," Shubman Gill warned this SRH bowler before the match

Gujarat Titans opener Shubman Gill explained the six he hit off Abhishek Sharma during the IPL 2023 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. For him, it was the most pleasing stroke during his knock. Gill smashed Sharma for a six and a four in the 12th over of the match. That was also Gill's only six in the match. It was a short delivery from the left-arm spinner and Gill pulled it over the deep square-leg fence. After being named the Player of the Match, the 23-year-old revealed that he had warned Sharma of hitting him for sixes before the match.

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IPL 2023: Shubman Gill's message to Abhishek Sharma before the game

"The most satisfying one was probably the six off Abhishek because we are childhood friends. I think I told him before the match, If you bowl against me, I'm going to hit you for six. That was most pleasing for me," Gill said in the post-match press conference.

Gill and Sharma were part of the 2018 U19 World Cup-winning India team and have played together for Punjab in first-class cricket. Shubman added that scoring a hundred against Hyderabad was special since he made his IPL debut against the franchise. He narrowly missed out on a ton earlier in the IPL against Lucknow Super Giants, returning unbeaten on 94 off 51 balls. However, he stated that personal milestones don't matter much to him as he is focused on playing according to the situation.

"It's quite pleasing. I made my IPL debut against SRH and got my first hundred against them, I feel like it has come a full circle. It feels great to get my first IPL hundred. Hopefully, I'll get some more of those. Hopefully, in this season as well."

"It's all about the bowlers and the situation that you are playing. I am not the person who dwells too much on my last innings. Doesn't matter even if I scored a hundred or a fifty. It's more about what I need to do in this situation, in this moment right now."

GT beat SRH by 34 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium to confirm a top-two finish in the points table. Batting first, Gujarat posted 188/9 after Gill (101 off 58) scored his maiden IPL ton. In response, Hyderabad could only manage 154/9. The GT opener has already smashed 576 runs in 13 matches at an average of 48 and a strike rate of 146, with one hundred and four fifties.