Sara Tendulkar, daughter of legendary Sachin Tendulkar, became a butt of jokes on social media after Gujarat Titans opener Shubman Gill, her alleged boyfriend, struck his second successive hundred in the Indian Premier League (IPL) against Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) recently.

Sara Tendulkar's mockery on social media came after Shubman Gill ended RCB's dream of qualifying for the playoffs with a stunning unbeaten century at the Mangalam Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday, leaving the home side's fans in tears.

 

Shubman Gill's effort was all the more important for the defending champions given that Virat Kohli's record seventh IPL ton had helped RCB to a massive total of 197/5 in their allocated 20 overs.

However, Shubman Gill overshadowed the former India and RCB captain's heroics as he smashed a blistering 104* off 52 deliveries, sealing a magnificent win over RCB in the final over of the contest in Bengaluru.

It is worth noting that Shubman Gill is said to be Virat Kohli's heir-apparent in cricket, and following in the footsteps of his idol, the Punjab-born batter slammed a second consecutive hundred in the tournament to power Gujarat Titans to a six-wicket triumph over the home favorites.

GT's win meant RCB's wait for a maiden IPL trophy extended to another year. Ironically, despite having Virat Kohli as part of their side, the franchise has spent 16 futile years without winning a title in the cash-rich league.

Shubman Gill is reportedly in a relationship with Sara Tendulkar – both regularly featured on each other's Instagram profiles not so long ago.

And it isn't the first time Sara Tendulkar found herself among the top trends due to Shubman Gill's heroics on the field. In January, hilarious Sara Tendulkar memes took Twitter by storm after Shubman Gill smashed his maiden T20I hundred for India against New Zealand in Ahmedabad.

With his scintillating knock against the Black Caps in Gujarat, Shubman Gill became the youngest men’s cricketer to score hundreds in all three formats of the game. At 23 years and 146 days, he accomplished the feat against Kiwis in the third T20I.

He also joined a select band of Indian players who have made hundreds across all formats. Before him, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, and KL Rahul were the only Indians to reach the milestone.

Moreover, Gill is the youngest Indian batter to hit a T20I hundred, going past Suresh Raina’s previous mark, who achieved the landmark in 23 years and 156 days.

If this wasn’t enough, Shubman Gill added another feather to his cap as he leapfrogged Virat Kohli to have the highest score by an Indian in T20Is. The former India captain scored an excellent 122 off 61 balls against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup in September last year.

Speaking about Shubman Gill's performance in the IPL, a cricket website had wholesome praise for him, describing him as a “rare” talent.

“Gill has hit 23 sixes in IPL 2023. He hit eight of them on Sunday in Bangalore, coming close to bettering his best tally across a whole season in one innings. His game is – not changing – but expanding. He is looking at the areas he's always been strong in and instead of hitting balls all along the carpet he's raising them up onto the roof: seven over mid-on, four over mid-off, and seven over midwicket,” the publication said.

“In each of the last two IPL seasons, Gill was among the top five four-hitters. Even in 2023, he's up at No. 3. He pierces gaps as easy as the rest of us stub our toes. Without even trying. But where previously he was content to play this way, this year his batting has reached new heights and having tasted that rarefied air, he has decided to break free of a limit he seems to have imposed upon himself. He has begun to look for sixes,” the website added.

“There are caveats, of course. He calls home a ground – Ahmedabad – where 31% of the total runs scored have come in sixes. It was there that he ransacked 68 off 37 against Lucknow Super Giants before finding his first four of the night. He made do with just two fours and still finished 94 not out, with seven sixes,” the media outlet elaborated.

“India's biggest superstars bat to a template. From Sunil Gavaskar to Sachin Tendulkar to Virat Kohli, they minimise risk. They like to take their time, get themselves set and then, if needed, go bang. They are freight trains. Solid, reliable, safe.”

“Gill fits comfortably into this category. He gets the same kind of praise. Even the same kind of criticism. Anybody who's ever raised a voice against him talks about his strike rate. And yet the only thing that came anywhere close to bugging him this IPL was he wasn't able to score those hundreds. This is a product of the system that made him. Indian cricket rates batters by the runs they score. The world out there though has started to expect more.”

“Batting moves forward with the risk-takers. And Gill has decided to become one of them. According to ESPNcricinfo's ball-by-ball data, he has played a lofted shot 75 times in IPL 2023. So, on average, he's been looking for a six once every 6.5 balls. That is up from 7.3 in both 2022 and 2021, which is up from 7.6 in 2020 which is up from 8.2 in 2019.”

“This is good news. After all, culture is set by the king and if he sees fit to build on a game that was already close to perfect, everybody else will have no choice but to follow,” it concluded.

On the other hand, Shubman Gill, chosen as the Player of the Match, was delighted with his batting display in Bengaluru.

“It's all about getting a start and converting it into a big one. Thankfully it's working out for me in the business end. You have to keep applying yourself, that's important. The new ball was holding on a bit. The ball was getting wet with the dew. I thought Vijay Shankar was trying to go too hard. Once he found the momentum, he hit it a long way. I know my game… for any player it's important to know who you are,” he underlined.