India pacer Mohammed Shami heaped praises on Gujarat Titans bowlers Sai Kishore and Mohit Sharma as the Shubman Gill-led team scraped out a narrow 6-run win over Mumbai Indians in their season opener. In a match whose headlines were dominated by Hardik Pandya’s first stint as MI captain and Shubman Gill filling in on Hardik Pandya’s shoes in Gujarat Titans, Kishore and Sharma emerged as unlikely heroes.
Sai Kishore, Mohit Sharma emerge as unlikely heroes
Gujarat Titans batted first in the match and scored 168 runs on a flat Ahmedabad surface. Mumbai Indians looked well on course to chase the total down with Rohit Sharma and Dewald Brevis looking in menacing touch. However, Sai Kishore not only stemmed the runs when he came in to bowl, but also got rid of Rohit Sharma. Mohit Sharma on his part got the better of Dewald Brevis as MI succumbed to their first loss of the season. Kishore finished with a figure of 24/1 in his four overs while Mohit Sharma picked up two wickets while giving away 32 runs.
Shami overjoyed with Kishore, Sharma
Meanwhile Mohammad Shami, who is missing the IPL 2024 with an ankle injury, was overjoyed with his team’s victory over the 5-time champions.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Shami said, “The match was made for Mumbai Indians, there was dew, and all conditions were in their favour. But Sai Kishore and Mohit Sharma were the game-changers for Gujarat Titans in the middle overs. Despite there being so much dew, a spinner in Sai Kishore leaked just 24 runs in 4 overs, and Mohit Sharma put in a superb effort.”