Spencer Johnson had a rollercoaster IPL debut for Gujarat Titans but it ended on a good note as his team won the match by 6 runs.
IPL 2024 has got off to a great start with already two thrillers in the first weekend of the tournament. Sunday’s (March 24) second clash was already supposed to be an exciting one with Hardik Pandya’s former team Gujarat Titans taking on the team he currently leads, i.e., Mumbai Indians.
The eyes were on Hardik Pandya but there was one young man who was leading an IPL team for the first time ever. With all the talks and focus on Hardik, Shubman Gill’s first stint as captain didn’t gather much attention. But Gill was impressive and showed his calmness even when his team was under pressure.
For most part of the second innings, Mumbai seemed in control – they required 43 from 33 balls at a stage – but the Titans bowlers hanged in there and bowled with superb discipline to take the match till the last over. Shubman Gill was proactive with his field changes and bowling changes. Ultimately, MI crumbled and lost the match by 6 runs.
Spencer Johnson was playing his debut IPL match and was straight away put under pressure. He gave away 17 runs in his first over and didn’t bowl his next over until the penultimate over of the match. The left-arm fast bowler was hit for a six by Tilak Varma in the first ball of 19th over. But he held his nerves and came back superbly to pick up the wickets of Tilak Varma and Gerald Coetzee in his next five balls.
After the match, Spencer Johnson praised GT’s new captain Shubman Gill for keeping him calm before the match.
“Shubman is unbelievable. He sat next to me on the bus trip. He was calming me. We talked through the game. As a young captain, he’s unbelievable,” Spencer said.
The Australian quick also reflected upon his experience of playing in front of India’s big crowds. It was expected that around 88,000 people attended the match in the Narendra Modi Stadium.
“Absolutely incredible (experience). Full house here. To get the win is very special. This is easily the biggest crowd I’ve played in front of. I’ve always wanted to play cricket in India and here I am. I hope we can keep winning,” Spencer added.
Spencer Johnson finished with figures of 2-25 in the two overs he bowled in the match. Meanwhile, Shubman Gill had a decent outing with the bat as he scored a valuable 31 off 22 balls and gave GT a good start. His knock included 3 fours and a six.
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