For large parts of Gujarat Titans’s mammoth 233 for three in their allotment of overs in Qualifier 2, the strapping figure of Vijay Shankar hunkered down, padded up and helmeted, waiting for his turn to bat. That it never came didn’t exactly disappoint the right-hander, for it meant his team was going really well and that was all that mattered.

Whatever little disappointment there might have been was lifted by an innings of transcendental luminescence from Shubman Gill, whose magical 129 warmed the cockles of the purist and the diehard T20 fan alike. Seven fours and 10 sixes cascaded off his willow, power beautifully concealed as timing called the shots. Mumbai Indians, facing a near-impossible task at the Narendra Modi Stadium, faded away badly after a bright beginning as Gujarat Titans made it to their second IPL final on the bounce, coming through by a comfortable 62-run margin despite a typically adventurous half-century from the effervescent Suryakumar Yadav.