Young batter Sai Sudharsan was struggling to live up to his potential in the ongoing IPL 2026. However, in the clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the Gujarat Titans opener defied odds, playing some phenomenal cricket and eventually completing his century in 57 balls. Beyond the hundred, Sudharsan etched his name into the record books by surpassing Chris Gayle to become the fastest player to reach 2000 IPL runs in terms of innings. While Gayle achieved the milestone in 48 innings, Sudharsan got there in just 47.
Fastest 2000 runs in terms of innings:
| Player | Innings taken for 2000 runs |
| Sai Sudharsan | 47 |
| Chris Gayle | 48 |
| Shaun Marsh | 52 |
| Ruturaj Gaikwad | 57 |
| KL Rahul | 60 |
In terms of balls faced, he now sits sixth among Indian batters to reach the landmark, behind Abhishek Sharma, Virender Sehwag, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Yusuf Pathan.
Fastest 2000 runs in terms of balls:
| Players | Balls taken for 2000 runs |
| Abhishek Sharma | 1193 |
| Virender Sehwag | 1211 |
| Rishabh Pant | 1306 |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | 1326 |
| Yusuf Pathan | 1353 |
| Sai Sudharsan | 1361 |
Gill-Sudharsan joins elite club
Just like old times’ sake, Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan once again laid the foundation of Gujarat’s innings. The duo stitched a 128-run partnership for the first wicket and set the tone for the visitors at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Meanwhile, this was their eighth 100+ partnership in IPL. They currently stand third for most 100+ partnerships for any wicket behind Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers (10) and Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle (9).
Among openers only, they are joint-second with five 100+ opening stands. Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner, with six 100+ opening partnerships, are at the top of the charts.
Gill struggles despite good start
As Sudharsan was dictating the play, captain Gill was very content with focusing on rotating strikes. He ended up scoring 32 runs off 24 balls, which is not accepted in modern T20 games. The role of an anchor is non-existent these days, especially when the surface has plenty of assistance to the batters. Batting at three, Jos Buttler too failed to capitalise on the start, scoring 25 runs in 16 balls.
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