KKR vs GT, IPL 2025: Shubman Gill Leads From Front For Gujarat Titans Against Kolkata Knight Riders

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Shubman Gill is having a blast out there, while batting and leading Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2025. On Monday (April 21) night, the most eligible bachelor in Indian cricket, was asked a weird question on 'looking good and if wedding bells were around the corner' by anchor Danny Morrison.

Gill was caught off guard for a brief second and then replied smartly in the negative. What does all this non-cricket talk have to do with the Gujarat Titans defeating Kolkata Knight Riders by 39 runs? Well, it goes to show how much a leader like Gill is under scrutiny.

Shubman Gill is a charming young man. At the same time, he has maintained a great balance between performance and poise, not letting anything distract him. If he was the maestro in motion as opener, it showed how he applied himself to score 90 runs off 55 balls where 10 fours and three sixes made him look even more attractive.

The ease and elan with which he bats, Gill handled the KKR attack of pace and spin with aplomb. It defined his essay at the crease. The century was loading but then he was not playing for a personal milestone really.

In a total of 198 runs, Gujarat Titans could have added 20-odd more runs. But then, wild hitting is not going to become so easy from here on. All the teams have played around eight matches each, wickets will get slower and bowlers have also adapted. So, Gill's knock was worth its weight in gold.

If the global prices of gold bullion are breaking all barriers, Gill is also in that same mood. His batting has always been a delight to watch, though there have been a few lean patches. Now that he has been trusted with a leadership role as well in Team India and given a central contract with "A" grade, it is clear, Shubman Gill will reach greater heights in many ways.

For those who look at him as just a batting machine, he has kept the flock together. All the lies peddled on social media that he was not going to be GT captain in the IPL 2025 has been blown to smithereens.

GT has faith in him and this is one side where there is a cool atmosphere despite hot city Ahmedabad as a base. There are no team owners craving for constant publicity like many other IPL teams. Torrent Group from Ahmedabad now has a 67 per cent holding, which goes to show there is a professional touch to the team and its philosophy.

And if you had heard Gill speak after the match, he comes across as a leader willing to appreciate each team member, be it a youngster or someone as old as Ishant Sharma. For the record, tried and tested Ishant at 36 is still good enough to lure Rinku Singh into a wrong shot and dismiss him, caught by Gill.

For those who have followed Ishant Sharma, he also hardly plays round the season. He is still relevant to GT, and credit for it goes to coach Ashish Nehra, who backs his former Delhi buddy from playing days.

Not many young fans in the teenage group would know, the two speedsters have even travelled in a scooter for matches in Delhi. Of course, Nehra is senior and has helped Ishant much earlier as well with his bowling master class sessions.

There is so much to appreciate as nuances in the Gujarat Titans side where the social media blitz is not crazy. Perched at the top now in the points table, they are planning smoothly. No shrill voices, and post Hardik Pandya's exit, the team has hardly faced any turbulence. That is a sign of how professional a side Gujarat Titans is.

On Monday, if this was a contest between two captains, Shubman Gill and Ajinkya Rahane, the latter is feeling the heat. It is not easy to be a leader in KKR, as there is a lot of pressure and under-current.

People cannot forget why Shreyas Iyer walked out of KKR after winning them the trophy in 2024. The KKR team bosses are not the best. For those who think SRK - Shahrukh Khan controls everything - that's not a 100 per cent true.

KKR have been whining and a Kolkata based-side will be always laden will politics. It is inbuilt in these people from Bengal, they will play politics in whatever they do.

From a curator like Sujan Mukherjee to Rahane complaining on wicket preparation to even the CAB - Cricket Association of Bengal, this is the plight. And for all those who call Sourav Ganguly as Dada, the amount of 'politics' he has played in Indian cricket will defeat even a seasoned politician. So, then, how does one expect KKR to play free cricket.

Personally, Rahane has been batting as well as he can, adapted to the T20 style. But the same zing is missing in the team, though the captain scored 50 off 36 balls. The rest of the batters came short, as the GT bowling was a potent mix.

Mohammed Siraj, Ishant, tall Prasidh Krishna, are a pace trio. And when wily Rashid Khan, Washington Sundar and Sai Kishore tweak, it's not easy. For KKR to lose by 39 runs and be placed seventh in the IPL table with six points means each match gets harder from here on.