IPL 2025: Shubman Gill returns to where it all began for him with a flourish

There is almost a dash of romance about Shubman Gill, the crown prince of Indian cricket, coming back to the hallowed Eden Gardens. This is where his journey started as a gangly 18-year-old, fresh out of a memorable Under-19 World Cup triumph, albeit for Kolkata Knight Riders back in 2018.

He was again there on Monday – albeit in his avatar as the Gujarat Titans captain – to enthrall a nearly 60,000 crowd with a majestic innings of 90 off 55 balls. An innings which bore all the hallmarks of a fine Gill effort as he chose to dominate both the dreaded KKR spinners Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy on a rare evening where both went wicketless on a turf where batting was not always easy.

There were those trademark drives on either side of the wicket, improvisations by opening the face of the bat if the bowlers tried to pitch it wide - and of course - three stunning sixes as he ended with a strike rate of 163.64. A century may have been there for the asking but Gill, in his new avatar, couldn’t care less as he tried to clobber Vaibhav Arora over the cow corner where Rinku Singh completed a fine catch.

It was a clinical performance by Titans who notched their sixth win in eight matches to stay on top of the table and more importantly – the team is reminding one of their quiet, efficient self like their debut season in 2022 when they became champions. ''Very pleased. The talk for us earlier was that these two matches (KKR & Delhi Capitals) were going to decide where we stand on the table, so very happy with how they went,'' Gill the captain said later.

The rapid strides which Gill has made in international arena has made one almost forget that KKR had let him go in the previous mega auction in 2022, preferring to retain Venkatesh Iyer instead. While the rangy youngster’s class was never in doubt in his formative years with the Knights, many felt he was taking time to realise his potential – but this was perhaps the snub he needed. He became a bulwark of Titans’ batting and after a modest first season with the bat as captain last year, Gill is looking his relaxed self all over again.     

And yes, he had also become a nemesis who seems to reserve his best for encounters against his former employers KKR. In four innings before Monday, Gill had amassed an impressive 153 runs at a healthy average of 51.0. The hot streak continues...