IPL 2023: Shubman Gill should have been the Player of the Match, reckons Aakash Chopra

Defending champion Gujarat Titans secured their third win of the 2023 IPL as they defeated Punjab Kings by six wickets after successfully chasing down 154 with a ball to spare. Pacer Mohit Sharma, who played his first IPL match since 2020, starred with the ball with a spell of 2-18 and was adjudged the Player of the Match. With the bat, opener Shubman Gill smashed 67 off 49 balls, laced with seven fours and a six, though he got out in the final over.

But former India opener Aakash Chopra feels Gill should have been given the Player of the Match award instead of Mohit. "If I could decide to award the Player of the Match, I would have given it to Shubman Gill. He's the only person to hit a half-century." "We can talk about how flat a pitch it was as much as we want, we didn't see 200 runs scored nor did we see 150 runs chased down easily. If the match result says the bowlers enjoyed more than the batters, our perception doesn't matter. Both teams played the match and only one player made a half-century, he should be awarded Man of the Match," Chopra was quoted as saying by JioCinema.

Chopra, though, was thoroughly entertained by Gill's creative shot-making. "You'll see pure cricket shots from him. The pitch was nice, no doubt about that. You're not chasing a large total, that's also true. Whenever you see him, you think being strong technically will also help you in T20 cricket."

"It liberates you. It doesn't box you in, instead, it gives you freedom. You can succeed by playing perfect cricket, we've seen this from Virat Kohli and now we're seeing him do it too." Former India leg-spinner Anil Kumble praised Mohit for his superlative efforts with the ball as Punjab's innings was slowed down in the middle overs. "He was prepared. He has enough variations to manage within four overs and he was excellent."

"After the last game, where they had to find an experienced bowler to bowl at the death, they realised it was Mohit Sharma. It's wonderful to see him pick up Man of the Match." For Punjab, pacer Kagiso Rabada picked up his 100th wicket in the IPL when he took the wicket of Wriddhiman Saha in the fifth over. Former Eoin Morgan was full of praise for the accuracy of the South African fast bowler. "You don't need to watch much cricket to know who Kagiso Rabada is, he brings everything that you want particularly as an international, overseas pick for an IPL team. His ability to swing the ball and nip it around or flaunt his accuracy is always on point."