Gujarat Titans. (Photo Source: Twitter)
The exhilarating action in the Indian Premier League 2023 reached Ahmedabad on Tuesday, April 25 as Gujarat Titans hosted Mumbai Indians in Match 35 at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and invited Gujarat Titans to bat first on their home turf.
Ahead of the much-anticipated clash, Gujarat Titans honoured Mohammed Shami and Wriddhiman Saha who are playing their 100th and 150th IPL games respectively. Both players were presented with special mementos in the team huddle ahead of the fixture. Mohit Sharma presented the memento to Shami while captain Hardik Pandya presented it to Saha as the duo was cheered on by their teammates.
Wriddhiman Saha is the first player to score a hundred in an IPL final
Saha has scored 2564 runs in 149 IPL games so far at an average of 25.14 and a strike rate of 128.39 with one hundred and 11 fifties to his name. His most memorable performance came in the year 2014 when he scored 362 runs in 17 innings playing for Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) at an average of 32.90 and a strike rate of 145.38. The 38-year-old has won the IPL title once playing for CSK in 2011.
The wicketkeeper batter is the first player to score a hundred in an IPL final as he played a sensational knock of 115* from 55 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2014 final. On the other hand, Mohammed Shami has picked up 109 wickets in 99 IPL matches so far at an average of 28.21 and an economy of 8.49. His best-ever performance came in the 2020 season when he picked 20 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 23.
The 32-year-old is the second-highest wicket-taker for GT in the ongoing season with 10 wickets from 7 matches at an average of 24.
Coming back to the GT vs MI clash, Gujarat didn’t get off to a good start as they lost opener Saha early on in the third over of the innings. Gujarat were 17/1 after three overs with Shubman Gill (8* off 6) and Hardik Pandya (5* off 5) at the crease.