The defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) return to their home venue in Ahmedabad for the third game of IPL 2023 against the Kolkata Knight Riders. The Titans began the 16th edition of the cash-rich league in some style with two wins in a row against the Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals.
The likes of Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami and Alzarri Joseph have been exceptional with the ball for GT while Shubman Gill, B Sai Sudharsan and David Miller have done well with the bat and more of the same will be their mantra. As the hosts gear up to take on the Knight Riders, GT skipper Hardik Pandya and Shubman Gill are nearing a major milestone.
Hardik (1976) and Gill (1977) are 24 and 23 runs away from reaching the milestone of 2000 IPL runs, respectively. If they score those many runs, they will not only achieve the landmark but also surpass former Chennai Super Kings batter Michael Hussey on the list of leading run-getters. Hussey too has 1977 runs in the IPL and for Gill, only 1 run will be enough for him to get to 48th place and for two runs for Hardik.
Gill since being with the Titans has taken his white-ball game to another level. The dashing opener increased his strike rate by 15 runs last year, for every 100 balls faced (to 132) and since then, he has smashed centuries for India across all three formats.
The 23-year-old brought his splendid form into the ongoing IPL season and in two matches, he has struck at 157.
Skipper Hardik, on the other hand, got out cheaply against the moving ball of Khaleel Ahmed in the last game and will be eager to make it count against the Knight Riders, who will be flying high after their 81-run win over the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).