Shubman Gill (101) played a stellar knock to register his first-ever IPL century. His colleagues in the bowling group then complemented his effort as Gujarat Titans recorded a comprehensive 34-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Motera in Ahmedabad on Monday and became the first team to make the IPL 2023 playoffs.

In reply to the Titans’ 188/9 after they were put in, the Sunrisers could reach only 154/9, with their hopes of making the last four crushed.

One can only feel for Bhuvneshwar Kumar (5/30), whose second five-for in the IPL denied the Titans from posting a huge 200-plus total which was very much on the cards during the 147-run second-wicket stand between Gill and Sai Sudarshan (47).

But the Sunrisers batters’ lack of application made a hash of the momentumthat Bhuvneshwar had earned for his team.

There was something in the Motera pitch for the quicks, which Mohammed Shami (4/21) and Mohit Sharma (4/28) made good use of, much to the delight of the Titans.

But still, a better effort with the bat was very much possible from the Sunrisers, something that keeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen (64 off 44 balls) showed.

The Titans’ collapse earlier took no sheen off Gill’s quality knock as he stroked the ball with finesse, finishing with 13 boundaries and a six during his 58-ball stay in the middle.