On Monday, India’s opening batsman Shubman Gill notched his first-ever century in the Indian Premier League (IPL), leading defending champions Gujarat Titans to a commanding 34-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad and securing a play-off spot for his team.

Gill’s impressive innings of 101 runs off 58 deliveries included 10 fours and 4 sixes, and he partnered with Sai Sudarshan, who scored 47 runs, to build a 147-run partnership, steering Gujarat to a total of 188-9 in Ahmedabad, the highest score of the season so far.
In response, Hyderabad struggled to get going and was restricted to 154-9, with Mohammed Shami and Mohit Sharma taking four wickets each for Gujarat. This victory earned Gujarat the first spot in the four-team play-off round, and they are also guaranteed a top-two finish in the group stage.

On the other hand, Hyderabad, who won the title in 2016, is out of contention for the playoffs, leaving seven teams to compete for the remaining three spots.

Wriddhiman Saha was dismissed for a duck by Hyderabad in the third delivery of the match, but Shubman Gill quickly took control by hitting Fazalhaq Farooqi for four consecutive boundaries.

Gill, who rose to second place in the batting leaderboard with 576 runs, behind Bangalore captain Faf du Plessis (631), struck 13 fours and a six in his century, while Sai Sudarshan was also aggressive in his innings of 36 balls.

Despite Gill’s blistering century in 56 balls, Gujarat could only muster 34 runs in the final five overs and lost seven wickets.
Hyderabad’s bowlers performed admirably to restrict Gujarat’s score, which appeared to be heading for a total above 200, with seam bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar returning figures of 5-30. Nevertheless, their efforts were in vain.

Hyderabad was never in contention after falling to 12-3, with Shami taking two wickets, before sliding to 59-7. Heinrich Klaasen from South Africa smashed 64 runs and put together a partnership of 68 runs with Kumar, who scored 27 runs, but it only reduced the margin of their defeat.