IPL 2025 | Carrying momentum is important, says Gill after GT qualify for playoffs

New Delhi: It was a grand entry into the IPL playoffs for former champions Gujarat Titans, who crushed Delhi Capitals by 10 wickets on Sunday, and skipper Shubman Gill said the team's focus now is on carrying this momentum through its final two league matches and into the knockout stage.

Opener Sai Shudharsan smashed a 61-ball unbeaten 108 and Gill hit a clinical 93 not out off 53 deliveries to help chase down DC's target of 200 runs with six deliveries to spare.

"Feels great to get the Q (qualification), but still two important games left. Carrying momentum is important. I've talked about being a batter, think as one without worrying about captaincy," Gill said at the post match presentation.

He added that that when he comes out to bat, he doesn't carry the burden of captaincy after learning it the hard way last year.

"Found it (captaincy) challenging last year, learnt how to manage it late in the season. Our fielding had been below par, we'd dropped a lot of catches, we reflected on that and worked on it during the break," said Gill.

He said that when someone like Sudharsan is batting beautifully at the other end, things become that much easier on the field and the understanding grows.

"When you're in form, someone like Sai who's converting starts, you don't talk much. You just talk about what's required. When in flow, you just need to make sure you don't get carried away.

Gill added the enforced break due to the Indo-Pakistan military tensions gave him time to recover.

"I'd gotten sick, the break helped me recover." GT assistant coach Parthiv Patel said the openers' "low-risk game" and the "chemistry" between them had helped the side make a statement this season.

The two openers are now leading the run-scoring charts with 609 and 594 runs respectively.

"We've batted and played really well throughout, going into the playoffs is a reward for how well we've done. Openers play low-risk cricket, still they have the ability to hit down the ground and find boundaries."

"The fours they hit during the game especially. They know their game, they put a lot of work in strengthening their basics which shows. They communicate well, last year they batted brilliantly."

"Opening pair is about chemistry and knowing each other's games well which they do." He credited head coach Ashish Nehra's leadership for GT's success."

"He's been fantastic and is the reason why we're right up there," added Parthiv.

Player of the match, Sudharsan, said remaing "cool" mentally helped them chase a stiff target with ease.

"We took the game deep, were cool enough mentally and got 2-3 big overs after 12, which worked out. Had taken risks in earlier games which hadn't worked out. I've also started to believe myself more to take the game deeper, expand my game.

"Not much has changed with my batting, but mentally I'm more free and expressive. Maybe I can get better at striking against spin and improving my batting after the 15th over." He said there was great chemistry with Gill, one of the reasons the duo is leading the run charts this season.

"There's a lot of understanding. We complement each other especially when the other batter is doing well, running is a vital thing too," he said.

DC skipper Axar Patel singled out fielding and bowling in powerplay for improvement.

"The way we batted was excellent. Fielding and bowling in the powerplay needs to improve," said Axar.