Former Indian opener Kris Srikknath praised Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill’s leadership after they registered an eight-wicket win against Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Sunday.
Srikkanth was impressed with the way Gill used Jason Holder in the middle overs. The West Indies all-rounder bowled an economical spell of four overs as he returned with figures of 0-22.
Srikkanth said on his YouTube Channel, “Gill did one smart thing by sneaking in four overs of Holder when Gaikwad, Brevis, and Dube were struggling. Holder probably never had such an economical spell in his lifetime.”
However, the 1983 World Cup winning player questioned Gill for under-utilising his spinners. Manav Suthar returned with figures of 1-22 in his three overs whereas Rashid Khan conceded 21 runs in his solitary over.
He added, “He overused Arshad Khan. Manav Suthar is brilliant, but GT are wasting him. They should use him throughout in the middle overs and in tandem with Rashid Khan. Rashid barely bowled, while Arshad Khan kept bowling.
Meanwhile, the former Indian captain praised GT opener Sai Sudharsan, who scored a match-winning knock of 87 runs off 46 balls in the run chase of 159.
Srikkanth said, “He plays to his strengths. He knows his limitations. He starts off playing in a scratchy manner by guiding balls in the third man region. But suddenly he explodes and makes up for it. In the first 30 runs, it always feels like he’s struggling. But he somehow survives that phase and makes it up brilliantly. Once he gets his eye in, he starts dominating.”
The former opener believes Ruturaj Gaikwad, who scored 74 runs off 60 balls, could have done what Sai Sudharsan did in the run chase.
“Ruturaj could have done a mini Tilak Varma, though. If he had done that, instead of 158, maybe CSK would have got 180 to 190. Ruturaj could have done what Sai Sudarshan did in this match,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).
Chennai Super Kings will next take on Mumbai Indians at the Chepauk Stadium on Saturday.
