AHMEDABAD: Shubman Gill hit his maiden IPL century to single-handedly power defending champions Gujarat Titans to 188 for nine despite a late comeback by Sunrisers Hyderabad's Bhuvneshwar Kumar (5/30) on Monday.
Gill slammed 101 off just 58 balls with the help of 13 fours and one six, and added 147 runs for the second wicket with Sai Sudharsan (47 off 36 balls).
Towards the end, SRH rode on Bhuvneshwar's brilliant bowling to restrict GT under 200.
Sent into bat, GT suffered an early blow as they lost Wriddhiman Saha for a duck in the third ball of the innings, nicking one to Abhishek Sharma at second slip.
After a sedate start, GT broke the shackles in the third over with Gill and Sai Sudharsan hitting Bhuvneshwar for three exquisite boundaries to pick up 15 runs.
Having found his touch, the in-form Gill pulled, drove and flicked to collect four consecutive boundaries off Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Both Sudharsan and Gill then dealt in boundaries to take GT to 65 for one in six overs.
Gill, in particular, was at his attacking best as he continued his onslaught and pulled SRH skipper Aiden Markram for two consecutive fours in the seventh over and then struck Markande for two more boundaries in the next over.
At the end of the 10th over, GT were 103 for one.
It was mayhem thereafter with Gill and Sudharsan going hammer and tongs to maintain a healthy run rate of over 10 till 14 overs.
Sudharsan finally departed in the 15th over, caught by T Natarajan at backward point off the bowling of Marco Jansen.
GT skipper Hardik Pandya didn't last long, giving a straightforward catch to Rahu Tripathi at point, handing Bhuvneshwar his second scalp of the day.
David Miller perished in the next over while attempting a big hit. Rahul Tewatia was the next to depart as SRH picked up four wickets in four overs.
Gill, however, went about his business and brought up his century in 56 balls with a single to long-off in the 19th over. But soon after raising his ton, Gill perished in the opening ball of the final over, caught by Abdul Samad off Bhuvneshwar.
Rashid Khan got a thick edge in the next ball and Noor Ahmad also departed during an excellent final over by Bhuvneshwar.
