Ahmedabad was the place to be on Tuesday, April 25th as the Indian Premier League 2023 continued to enthrall the cricket world. Gujarat Titans welcomed Mumbai Indians to the Narendra Modi Stadium for Match 35, after Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and invited the home team to bat first.
Before the much-awaited clash, Gujarat Titans took the time to honour their players, Mohammed Shami and Wriddhiman Saha, who were playing their 100th and 150th IPL games respectively. Both players received special mementos in the team huddle before the game, with Shami receiving his from Mohit Sharma, while Hardik Pandya presented Saha with his, as the entire team cheered them on.
Saha has scored 2564 runs in 149 IPL games, with an average of 25.14 and a strike rate of 128.39, including one century and 11 fifties. In 2014, playing for Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), he scored 362 runs in 17 innings at an average of 32.90 and a strike rate of 145.38. The 38-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman has won the IPL title once, playing for CSK in 2011, and is the first player to score a hundred in an IPL final, with a sensational knock of 115* from 55 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2014 final.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami has picked up 109 wickets in 99 IPL matches, with an average of 28.21 and an economy of 8.49. His best performance came in the 2020 season when he picked 20 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 23. The 32-year-old is the second-highest wicket-taker for GT in the ongoing season, with 10 wickets from 7 matches at an average of 24.
Unfortunately, Gujarat Titans didn’t get off to a good start as opener Saha fell early on in the third over of the innings. The team was struggling at 17/1 after three overs, with Shubman Gill (8* off 6) and Hardik Pandya (5* off 5) at the crease.
