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IPL 2023: Orange Cap on, Shubman Gill Waltzes on in Purplest of Purple Patches 

Shubman Gill has now scored three IPL centuries in a matter of 11 days.

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Shubman Gill has been batting at a level in IPL 2023 where adjectives fail to do justice to the sheer class of the man. 

Ravi Shastri described Gill as 'regal' when the stylish opener raced to his third century of this season, finally getting dismissed on 129 off 60 deliveries, going at a strike rate of 215.

Harsha Bhogle reckoned that if any batter has revoked the same emotional response as Virat Kohli did when he owned the IPL in 2016 with a grand tally of 973 runs at an average of over 80 and a strike rate of 150 plus, with four centuries, it's Shubman Gill. 

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Kohli, himself, has been in awe of Gill throughout the season. The most insightful comments came from him when the 23-year-old struck his maiden IPL century against Sunrisers Hyderabad this year. 

"There's potential and then there's Gill. Go on and lead the next generation. God bless you." 

A clear passing of the baton, if there ever was one. After Gill's majestic 129, perhaps, Kohli understood that the former is batting on a level which is beyond superlatives and decided to go with just a star emoji on Instagram. 

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Shubman Gill has now scored three IPL centuries in a matter of 11 days.

Shubman Gill celebrates a century during IPL 2023.

(Photo: BCCI)

Dream Run 

The last year has been surreal for Gill, with the Punjab-born batter coming into his own. For all the promise that Gill showed in his early years, he had a tendency to get off to good starts and then throw it away. 

However, over the last year or so, he has learnt to capitalise on his starts, and the results are for everyone to see. 

Coming on the back of a rewarding international season, Gill has carried his form in the IPL as well and has taken his career graph to a completely different level altogether since smashing 94 not out against Lucknow Super Giants, which came at Gujarat Titans' home ground in Ahmedabad. 

Gill has set the stage on fire, particularly in Ahmedabad, having smashed 533 runs from just eight innings at an average of over 75 and a strike rate of more than 170, with two centuries at the venue. 

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Complete Player 

One of the reasons that teams struggle to pin him down is that Gill does not have any obvious chink in his armour – he is equally good against both pace and spin. Gill has scored 488 runs against pace in IPL 2023 at an average of 54.22 and a strike rate of 156.41 with 47 fours and 19 sixes. 

The right-hander has been equally punishing against spinners as well, stroking 363 runs at an average of 72.60 and a strike rate of 156.46 with 31 fours and 14 sixes. 

With the ball doing a bit in the cloudy conditions of Ahmedabad in Qualifier 2 against Mumbai Indians, Gill was a bit watchful to start off and was batting on 37 off 26 deliveries at one point. 

He flipped a switch in the 12th over, smashing Akash Madhwal, Mumbai's leading Indian pacer in IPL 2023, for three sixes, and did not look back thereafter. He went on to greet Piyush Chwla, Mumbai's leading spinner and the spinner with the second-highest wickets this season behind Rashid Khan, for two sixes and a four to jump from 59 of 37 balls to 98 off 47 balls in a matter of two overs! 

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Records Galore 

As he walked back to the pavilion after being caught by Tim David, who had earlier dropped him on 30 – talk about costly drops! – Gill had become the batter with the third most runs in an IPL season, only behind Virat Kohli (973) and Jos Butler (863) and the Indian batter with the second-highest boundary count in an IPL season (111). 

Gill also holds the record for hitting the most sixes (10) and smashing the highest individual score in an IPL playoff (129). 

No wonder then, that he termed the knock as his best IPL innings so far. Ravi Shastri, on commentary, went a step further and branded it as the best hundred in IPL history, no caveats attached, in inimitable Shastri style. 

"From the last WI tour, I think I have shifted a gear, I got injured before the last IPL but I have been working on my game. I have worked on a few areas and made technical changes ahead of the NZ series after the T20I World Cup. Expectations are something that follow you outside the ropes, but once you step on the field it is all about trying to contribute for the team. I think this was probably my best innings so far in the IPL," Gill said after being named the Player of the Match for his match-winning ton. 
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The Orange Cap holder in IPL 2023, Gill is now leading the second-placed Faf du Plessis by more than 100 runs and has a realistic opportunity of overtaking Virat Kohli as the batter with the most runs in an IPL season. All he needs to do is to ton up once again, and given his form, a three-figure score against Chennai Super Kings on the big night of the final cannot be ruled out. 

Regardless, Indian cricket has discovered a generational batting talent. It feels strange that just a year ago, there were discussions about whether Shikhar Dhawan, or someone else, should partner Rohit Sharma at the top of the order for the upcoming ODI World Cup in India. 

As things stand, Gill has not only cemented, but also glazed, his spot at the top of the order in Team India, perhaps in all three formats, for the foreseeable future.

(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)

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Topics:  Shubman Gill   IPL 2023 

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