Shubman Gill proves he is the one true heir to King Kohli's throne with smashing IPL 2023

Indian cricket sensation Shubman Gill continued his journey up the cricketing ranks with another sensational century in the Indian Premier League. Facing five-time champions Mumbai Indians in the Qualifier 2 of IPL 2023, Gill smashed 129 runs off just 60 balls and ensured a mammoth total for Gujarat Titans. While his effort ultimately helped the defending champions to make it to their second consecutive IPL final, Gill proved why he has been called the ‘crown prince’ of Indian cricket on multiple occasions during IPL 2023.

Shubman plays his shot in similar elegance to that of Virat Kohli, who is well known as ‘King Kohli’ in the cricketing circle. However, his ability to take bowlers for a stroll around the park at will with power-packed shots implies that he is the one true heir to King Kohli’s throne. Interestingly, both batsmen scored their respective second-consecutive hundreds of the season during Royal Challengers Bangalore’s last league match.

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Will Shubman Gill surpass Virat Kohli's gigantic IPL 2016 tally?

Kohli looked to be in stellar form as the season kicked off, stitching record-breaking partnerships with the RCB captain Faf du Plessis. During the win against Sunrisers Hyderabad in RCB’s 2nd last league match, Kohli smashed his first IPL century since 2019 by scoring 100 runs off 63 balls. He then followed up the knock with another century against Gujarat Titans in the next game, where he remained unbeaten on 101* off 61.

This took Kohli past Chris Gayle’s tally of six IPL centuries, making him the leading century scorer in the history of the marquee T20 league. He scored 639 runs for RCB in 14 games, at an average of 53.25 and a strike rate of 139.82. In the process, he hammered two sensational centuries and six half-centuries in total. This was the best performance in the IPL for the 34-year-old since he scored 973 runs in the 2016 season, which included four centuries. 

Shubman Gill follows Virat Kohli's footsteps to continue sensational run in IPL 2023

On the other hand, having scored four fifties for the Hardik Pandya-led side in the first 12 games, Shubman Gill struck his maiden IPL century against SRH, scoring 101 off 58 balls. In GT’s next game against RCB, the 23-year-old overshadowed the former RCB captain’s knock by remaining unbeaten on 104* off 52. He followed up the consecutive centuries with a fighting knock of 42 runs in 38 balls against the MS Dhoni-led CSK, before slamming his 3rd century in IPL 2023 in Qualifier 2 on Friday.

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Ahead of the much-anticipated CSK vs GT, IPL 2023 final, Gill leads the Orange Cap standings with 851 runs in 16 games at an average of 60.79 and a strike rate of 156.43. He is now just 122 runs away from match Kohli's tally of scoring the most runs in an IPL season. He will also be looking to match Kohli's record of scoring the most IPL centuries in a season during the final against Chennai Super Kings. Having said that, here's a look at some of the major records currently held by Kohli and Gill.

• The RCB vs GT match was the 2nd time in IPL 2023, and 4th time in IPL that 2 centuries were hit in the same game
• Virat Kohli became the third batsman to hit back-to-back centuries in IPL during RCB vs GT
• Shubman Gill became the fourth batsman to hit back-to-back centuries in IPL during RCB vs GT
• Most runs in an IPL season - Virat Kohli (973 runs for RCB in 2016), Jos Buttler (863 runs for RR in 2022), Shubman Gill (851 runs for GT in 2023)
• Most boundaries in an IPL season - Jos Buttler (128 in 2022), Virat Kohli (122 in 2016), David Warner (119 in 2016), Shubman Gill (111* in 2023)
• Indian players with 100+ boundaries in an IPL season - Virat Kohli (122 in 2016), Shubman Gill (111* in 2023), Yashasvi Jaiswal (108 for RR in 2023)