Ahmedabad, May 30 (IANS) Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill credited his opening partner Sai Sudharsan’s unwavering intensity and consistency as one of the biggest strengths behind the team’s success, as the 2022 winners prepare to face Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the title clash to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.

GT enters a final at its home venue after beating Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in Qualifier 2 in New Chandigarh, where Gill hit a majestic 104 and shared a 167-run opening stand with Sudharsan, who hit 58. “I think in a tournament like IPL, when I first started playing, one of the challenges that I faced was to keep playing the matches at the same intensity, and I think that is one of his (Sudharsan’s) biggest strengths.

“You play so many matches there could be days where mentally you don’t feel up to the mark or physically you don’t feel up to the mark, but to be able to have the same intensity in all of the matches and be consistent in your preparation (and) in your routine is not that easy. He is someone who is very consistent in his routines, in his life outside of cricket… so that is what makes him consistent on the field as well,” said Gill in the pre-final press conference.

Sudharsan has crossed the 700‑run mark for the second successive season, forming a prolific partnership with Gill that has already produced 886 runs in IPL 2026. Another stand, especially if it crosses 54 runs in the final, would take them past the record set by Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in 2016.

“We spend a lot of time in the IPL together on the field, off the field as well, and then we are in the Test team as well, so we have a lot of conversations. There are things that we talk about cricket, and outside of cricket.

“But I think there are many players in our team who also play for the country, and hopefully we are going to play together for a long period of time, and it’s very important for us to know each other well to have a great equation that automatically translates to on‑field performances,” added Gill.

Gill also pointed to the importance of batting fundamentals in T20 cricket despite the rise in high scores this season. “Sometimes the wicket tends to be a bit on the slower side. Then it is important to hit the gaps, still look to run well, because I think that is the foundation of any format you are playing. The team that plays less number of dot balls has a better chance of getting a better score, so yes, the T20 game has evolved, you see bigger scores, but the wickets have also gone a little bit flatter.”

“I think that not many people talk about this. Before these two new teams (GT & LSG were added to the league in 2022), there used to be eight teams, and we used to play on similar wickets. (But)] Back in the day, in the second half of the IPL, we used to see 150, 160, 140 scores a lot more, in Eden Gardens and even in Bombay.

“In some of the venues now, because at least four or five times in a season, we get a five‑day break or a seven‑day break, which gives the chance to play on fresh wickets, better wickets.

“So I feel cricket is the same, it’s all about the kind of wickets that we play on, the kind of grounds that we play on… If we play on challenging wickets, the scores are going to be similar, maybe a 5‑10 runs difference here and there, but still I feel that cricket is pretty much similar,” he explained.

Gill himself has adapted to the demands of the format, raising his powerplay strike rate from 143 last season to 159 this year, making his credentials to re-enter the India T20I team strong.

“I mean, I’d be happy to play if I get picked for the T20 team, but honestly, I want to keep working on my game. It doesn’t matter what format it is. I want to keep getting better as a T20 batsman, as an ODI batsman, as a Test batsman… cricket is such a game you can never really get perfect, but obviously you can strive for it, and that’s what I try to do.”

With GT chasing their second IPL crown, Gill said the winner in the final would be decided more by mental strength than physical freshness. “I mean, Dharamshala is kind of a difficult venue to get to and travel, but yes, physically they might have an advantage, but I think finals are all about mental (strength), so the team that is mentally up for the challenge is the one that is going to win.”

“Honestly, I don’t really get the burden of expectations. Obviously, there are advantages, that’s how I see it. There’s familiarity when we play there, we know the wicket, we know the ground, so we know what kind of cricket we need to play there to be able to win, so in that context, yes, I see it as an advantage because there’s a little bit of familiarity.”

–IANS

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