UPDATED: May 15, 2023 23:52 IST
By India Today Sports Desk: Mohammed Shami is fond of biryani, but the India fast bowler is missing his favourite food in Ahmedabad as he is playing for Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2023.
Shami returned with the figures of 4/21 in four overs to help Gujarat Titans beat SunRisers Hyderabad by 34 runs and qualify for the 2023 playoffs. GT secured their playoffs berth for a second consecutive time.
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When former India head coach-turned commentator Ravi Shastri asked Shami what does he eats, the fast bowler said: “Gujarat mein hoon, mera khana nahi milega na (I’m in Gujarat, so will not get what I want).” After his response, both Shami and Shastri cracked into laughter.
Shami also talked about his bowling effort, saying that he just bowled to his strengths and on good lines.
“I’ve been focusing on hitting the ball into the pitch, bowl to my strengths and on good lines. I’ve been trying to hit similar lines and make use of the new ball. That’s always given me success. The wicket was the same as that in the last game. Mohit coming in has helped go well in the middle overs, given we have Rashid and Noor as well,” Shami said.
Shubman Gill’s maiden IPL hundred lifted Titans to 188/9. Gill brought up his century off 56 balls to become the first GT player to hit a hundred in the history of IPL. Bhuvneshwar Kumar finished with a five-wicket haul after taking three wickets in the final over. The SRH pacer became the second bowler in 2023 season to achieve the feat after Lucknow Super Giants’ Mark Wood. It was also Bhuvneshwar’s second five-wicket haul in his IPL career, having first picked up in 2017.
Titans dented SunRisers’ 189-run chase inside powerplay, as Mohammed Shami picked up three crucial wickets – Anmolpreet Singh, Aiden Markram and Rahul Tripathi. Yash Dayal, who made a comeback since conceding 31 runs against KKR’s Rinku Singh, made an instant impact as he removed Abhishek Sharma in his first over.
SunRisers further collapsed as Mohit Sharma picked up four wickets. Heinrich Klaasen single-handedly fought back before Shami returned to end his innings for 64 and take his fourth wicket. Titans eventually restricted SunRisers to 154/9 and secured a 34-run win.
