Shubman Gill: The 'Prince' of Indian cricket re-writes record books with explosive ton against MI

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], May 26 (ANI): The 23-year-old Shubman Gill cannot help himself but break records! This young batter entered record books and re-wrote them with each swing of his bat during his side's Indian Premier League (IPL) Qualifier 2 match against Mumbai Indians (MI) match at Ahmedabad on Friday.
In the match, Gill brought up his third century of the ongoing IPL season. He scored 129 runs in just 60 balls. His knock consisted of seven fours and 10 sixes. His runs came at a strike rate of 215.00.
He has become the batter with the second-highest number of centuries in a single IPL season. The highest number of centuries are scored in an IPL season by Virat Kohli (4 in 2016) and Jos Buttler (4 in 2022).
Gill is the seventh player to score an IPL hundred in the playoffs and at the age of 23 years and 260 days, he is the youngest to do so.
He also holds the record for the joint-fastest century in an IPL playoff match. His ton came in 49 balls, just like his current opening partner Wriddhiman Saha's ton, which came in 49 balls while playing for Punjab Kings in the final of IPL 2014 against Kolkata Knight Riders.
His century is also the 150th fifty-plus score in IPL 2023. The ongoing season of the league has witnessed the most number of fifty-plus scores. Previously, the 2022 edition of IPL held this record, having witnessed a total of 118 such scores.
Gill has three centuries in IPL, most by any batter in the league's history at the age of 23 or less.
Gill currently holds the Orange Cap in IPL 2023. He has scored 851 runs in 16 matches at an average of 60.78, with three centuries and four fifties. His best score is 129. His runs have come at a strike rate of 156.43.
Now Gill has third-highest runs in a single IPL season and he could get to play the final as well. The highest runs in an IPL season are scored by Virat Kohli (973 runs in 2016 for RCB) and Jos Buttler (863 runs in 2022 for RR). Gill has overtaken David Warner's tally of 848 runs in the 2016 season to enter the top three.
Gill also has the highest score in an IPL playoff match, overtaking Virender Sehwag's 122 against Chennai Super Kings in qualifier 2 back in 2014.
Gill has the second-highest score in an IPL inning by an Indian player. The highest score in IPL by an Indian is by KL Rahul in the 2020 IPL against RCB, against who he played a knock of 132*. Chris Gayle holds the record of the highest score in IPL, with 175* in 66 balls for RCB against Pune Warriors India in 2013.
Gill's tally of 10 sixes is also the most by a player in an IPL playoff inning. Earlier, Saha held this record, smashing eight sixes against KKR in his knock of 115 against KKR in the IPL 2014 finals. He has smashed 33 sixes in IPL 2023. This is the second-highest in the tournament next to RCB skipper Faf Du Plessis, who has hit 36 sixes.
Gill has smashed 78 fours and 33 sixes in IPL 2023. He has the fourth-highest IPL boundary count in a season with a total of 111 hits across the boundary line. Jos Buttler had 128 boundaries in 2022, Virat Kohli had 122 boundaries in 2016 and Warner had 119 boundaries back in 2016.
He also has the second-best boundary count by an Indian player in an IPL season, next to Virat Kohli (122 in 2016).
Coming to the match, knocks by Gill, Sai Sudarshan (43) and skipper Hardik Pandya (28*) helped GT post 233/3 after being put to bat first by MI.
Piyush Chawla and Akash Madhwal got a wicket each. (ANI)