"He was the Man of the Match according to me" - Irfan Pathan lauds Mohit Sharma's spell in Gujarat Titans' IPL 2024 win vs CSK

Irfan Pathan reckons Mohit Sharma should have been awarded the Player of the Match for the Gujarat Titans' (GT) IPL 2024 win against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). GT skipper Shubman Gill was chosen ahead of the seamer for the accolade.

The Titans set CSK a 232-run target after being asked to bat first in Ahmedabad on Friday, May 10. Mohit then registered figures of 3/31 in four overs as the hosts restricted Ruturaj Gaikwad and company to 196/8 and completed a 35-run win to keep their playoff qualification hopes alive.

Reviewing the game on Star Sports, Pathan claimed that Mohit bowled the game-defining spell.

"He (Mohit) was the Man of the Match according to me because it was a flat pitch and a high-scoring game. The losing team also scored close to 200 runs. There Mohit Sharma bowled his variations with control, and all three of his wickets were set batters," he elaborated.

The former India all-rounder noted that either Daryl Mitchell or Moeen Ali might have taken CSK to a win if they hadn't been dismissed.

"Daryl Mitchell and Moeen Ali were set. If either of these two batters had stayed, this match could have been over. The match would have come closer. Considering that, it was praiseworthy bowling. Mohit Sharma comes in a different rhythm after seeing his old team," Pathan observed.

Pathan acknowledged that the Gujarat Titans fans might still be happy as their team won the game and one of their players was awarded the Player of the Match. However, he opined that a bowler should have got the award, especially considering Mohit's bowling level.

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"When so many runs are scored, the bowling contribution becomes huge" - Harbhajan Singh on Mohit Sharma's spell

Mohit Sharma dismissed Shivam Dube apart from Daryl Mitchell and Moeen Ali. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Harbhajan Singh concurred with Irfan Pathan that Mohit Sharma deserved to be the Player of the Match.

"The way this tournament has gone, we have seen a lot of runs being scored, and today's match was also not low-scoring where the bowlers didn't give runs at all. When so many runs are scored, the bowling contribution becomes huge," he reasoned.

"If you concede 31 runs and take three wickets and dismiss players who can change the match on their own - Daryl Mitchell was playing very well and (Shivam) Dube is a terrific player - that spell made the difference. If someone else who didn't have as much experience as Mohit was there, this game might have gone in Chennai's favor. So I agree with Irfan," the former India spinner added.

At the same time, Harbhajan did acknowledge that Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan played excellent knocks. Gill (104 off 55) and Sudharsan (103 off 51) stitched together a 210-run opening-wicket partnership in the Gujarat Titans' innings.