NEW DELHI: Captain Shubman Gill summed it up best after Gujarat Titans’ clinical chase — sometimes, momentum just finds you. And on Thursday night in Ahmedabad, it certainly did.Leading from the front, Gill played a decisive hand in Gujarat Titans’ four-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru, later admitting that an early slice of luck set the tone for his match-defining knock.“Feels very satisfying. On a wicket like that, to restrict a team like them to 155 is very nice,” Gill, who scored 43 off just 18 balls, said after the win. “First ball I got a bit lucky and then I thought today was my day. I was in the zone and confident of taking the bowling on.”Gill sets the tone after early reprieveThat “lucky” moment came early against Bhuvneshwar Kumar when an inside edge went for a four, but Gill made it count in style. He quickly shifted gears, putting RCB under pressure with an aggressive approach in the powerplay.“The energy was quite high after the second over. I was just feeling I was in the zone,” he added, reflecting on his mindset during the chase.Gill’s attacking intent, combined with brisk contributions from Jos Buttler and late composure from Rahul Tewatia, ensured GT stayed ahead despite a brief middle-order wobble.“Tewatia is a very important player for us. That was one of the conversations we had in the timeout. He got some nice runs and everyone got a hit in the middle,” Gill noted.Patidar concedes Gill’s impactOn the other side, RCB skipper Rajat Patidar acknowledged that Gill’s powerplay assault proved decisive.“Obviously, the score was not good enough on this track,” Patidar admitted. “But the way Shubman played, especially in the powerplay, he put us under pressure and took the game away.”Despite posting just 155, RCB managed to stretch the contest deeper than expected, something Patidar viewed as a positive.“I think the way we bowled and stretched it to 15-16 overs is a positive sign. There was good grass cover that helped the fast bowlers,” he said.Lessons for RCB as GT surge aheadPatidar also pointed to key areas for improvement. “We gave a lot of wickets in the middle and that kept us on the back foot,” he said.Earlier, GT’s bowlers had laid the foundation by bundling out RCB for 155, with disciplined spells backed by sharp fielding.In the end, though, the night belonged to Gill — a blend of luck, timing, and authority. As he put it himself, once that early moment went his way, everything else simply followed.
