GT vs PBKS: 'Being a net bowler is not bad'; says Mohit Sharma after his IPL comeback

GT vs PBKS: Gujarat Titans defeated Punjab Kings in match 18 of the IPL 2023 by six wickets played at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali. Shubman Gill and Mohit Sharma were the star performers of the match and played important role in the Titans' victory over PBKS. 

Batting first in the match Shikhar Dhawan led Punjab Kings secured a first-innings total of 153/8 courtesy of knocks from Matthew Short and some late fireworks by Shahrukh Khan who played a quick 22-run knock of just nine balls. No other PBKS batsman was allowed to score runs by the Gujarat Titans bowlers and Mohit Sharma who was making a comeback in IPL after a long time pulled off a star performance in the match and picked up two wickets for just 18 runs at an economy rate of 4.50. Mohit was also adjudged with the Player of the Match award after his performance. 

This is not Mohit Sharma's first appearance in the Indian Premier League, he has been part of teams like Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings in the past and has also given some worth-remembering performances. However, Mohit was making a comeback in the IPL after a while and was a part of the Gujarat Titans franchise as a net bowler in the IPL 2022. 

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There was excitement and nervousness at the same time: Mohit Sharma

Speaking on his IPL comeback and match-winning performance after the match Mohit Sharma said, “There was excitement, but also nervousness about making a comeback after a few years. Have played domestic cricket in between. Last year, I was playing after a long time coming back from surgery. A lot of people did not know if I was playing competitive cricket or not. Ashish Nehra called me up and asked me to stay with the team. I thought what will I do at home? I was involved with cricket and I think that time was perfect for me. Being a net bowler is not a bad thing. Gives you a lot of exposure. The environment at GT is brilliant." 

Mohit Sharma's last appearance in the Indian Premier League was for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2020 and since then he had not played any IPL match. 

Another IPL match goes down the wire

Coming back to the match, while chasing a target of 154 against Punjab Kings, the Gujarat Titans chase was anchored by Shubman Gill who played a knock of 67 runs off just 49 at a strike rate of 136.73. Wriddhiman Saha also played a quick knock of 30 runs off just 19 balls and in the end Titans were able to win the match by six wickets.