'For the first time, Rashid Khan...': Shubman Gill's colossal statement after GT vs MI clash

Shubman Gill's Gujarat Titans (GT) went head-to-head with Hardik Pandya's Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 9th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on Saturday, March 29.

Team Gujarat Titans won the match against Team Mumbai Indians by 36 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and now their head-to-head record against the franchise stands at 4-2.

Also Read: Watch: Hardik Pandya drops F-Bomb, engages in heated stare-down with Sai Kishore in IPL 2025

The decision was taken before the first match - Shubman Gill

Batting first in the match, the Gujarat Titans posted a colossal total of 196/8 on the board and then did a brilliant job with the ball, restricting MI to 160/6 to seal the deal.

During the post-match presentation ceremony, Shumban Gill said that the decision to play on a black soil pitch was a match before the game. He said:

"The decision was taken before the first match that the second match will be played on black soil. Yes, that was a factor as well, but this wicket suits us. Batting on black soil once the ball gets old, it's difficult to clear the boundary, so we tried to maximize the powerplay."

I don't know, maybe this is the first time he didn't bowl four overs - Shubman Gill

Star leg-spinner Rashid Khan bowled just 2 overs in the match against the Mumbai Indians, and talking about this, Shubman Gill said that for the first time, such a thing would've happened.

Shubman Gill revealed that he saved Rashid Khan's over for the last, but Prasidh Krishna bowled brilliantly, and he went with the pacer. He said:

"We can all talk about plans, but sometimes it goes your way, and it doesn't.

"I don't know, maybe this is the first time he didn't bowl four overs. I actually kept him for the end but I thought the pacers are bowling well. Prasidh was bowling well so just wanted to use the pacers. It's going to be a good challenge for us."

How Did GT Perform in the Previous IPL Match Against MI?

On March 24 in the 5th match of the Indian Premier League 2024, Gujarat Titans had locked horns with Mumbai Indians in Ahmedabad and pulled off a stunning six-run victory.

Being invited to bat first in the match, Sai Sudharsan led the batting charge for GT with a steady 45 runs off 39 balls, while Shubman Gill (31 off 22) and Rahul Tewatia (22 off 15) provided crucial contributions.

However, Gujarat Titans struggled to accelerate against Jasprit Bumrah (3/14) and Gerald Coetzee (2/27) and managed to post a below-par total of 168/6 on the board.

Defending the score, GT dismissed Ishan Kishan for a duck and as MI were looking threatening at 107/2, Sai Kishore removed Rohit Sharma to trigger a collapse.

Gujarat Titans bowlers suddenly came into a dominant position in the match and restricted MI to 162/9 in their 20 overs. Notably, MI needed 19 runs off the last over and Umesh Yadav dismissed Hardik Pandya and Piyush Chawla to secure victory for his team.