Shubman Gill Explains Call To Back Washington Sundar In GT's Tense Chase vs PBKS: 'Best Batter'
Shubman Gill expressed his appreciation for Washington Sundar as Gujarat Titans defeated Punjab Kings in a last-over IPL 2026 thriller.
Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill on Sunday said they didn't want to take the match so deep but was happy after securing two points against table-toppers Punjab Kings in an IPL 2026 match on Sunday. After restricting PBKS to 163 for 9, PBKS reached 167 six with a ball to spare. “Would have liked to not take it as deep as we did. But two points! We always knew this is not the kind of wicket where we can chase it in 15-16 overs. If someone is set, they should go deep,” said Gill during the post-match presentation.
“Length balls weren't coming. Important for the batter who was set -- lucky for us, Washy finished it off. It was all about the kind of situation we are in, and the best batter (on sending out left-handers),” Gill said.
PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer was a little dejected, and thought 163 was a defendable total.
“I personally thought it was a great score. New ball was doing a bit at the start. Their bowlers made best use of the surface, the way they were hitting the deck. We lost four wickets in the powerplay, just to get to 160 from there was a phenomenal effort.
“With the new ball, I thought we would be able to hit line and length and be accurate and get wickets, but it didn't work out. Kudos to the effort, attitude and approach. We missed on hitting the hard lengths, I think. Hitting over midwicket wasn't easy on this wicket, there was variable bounce," he said.
Iyer said his side misfired in the execution.
"In terms of execution, we fell short. We're still top of the table, we'll take positives from that.... Shows the character of the bowlers, wanted to win, didn't click (today.
“Excited for the opportunity (in Hyderabad next). Boys putting in hard yards. If the character is high, attitude is right, results will come eventually,” he said.
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Gujarat Titans
Punjab Kings