New Delhi: Sai Sudharsan etched his name into the IPL record books on Friday, becoming the quickest batter to reach 2,000 runs in the tournament during Gujarat Titans’ clash with Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The Gujarat Titans opener powered his way to the milestone in 47 innings, surpassing Chris Gayle, who previously needed 48 innings to get to 2,000 IPL runs. Sudharsan arrived at the crease needing 72 runs to break the benchmark, and with the innings he played, his total climbed past 2,000 for the campaign’s all-time tally.
The record marked a sharp jump in the fastest path to 2,000 IPL runs. Sudharsan’s 47-innings feat sits at the top of the list, ahead of Gayle’s 48, while Shaun Marsh is next at 52. Ruturaj Gaikwad reached the mark in 57 innings, followed by KL Rahul at 60. The milestone also places Sudharsan among the most efficient run-getters by deliveries in the IPL for Indian batters, where Abhishek Sharma tops the chart with 1,193 balls, Virender Sehwag follows on 1,211, Rishabh Pant is listed with 1,306, Yashasvi Jaiswal is next at 1,326, Yusuf Pathan has 1,353, and Sai Sudharsan is recorded with 1,361.
Going into the match, Sudharsan had already amassed 1,928 runs from 46 matches and 46 innings. His average stood at 45.90 and his strike rate at 145.83, with two centuries and 13 half-centuries to his name before Friday’s breakthrough. Earlier in the same game, Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar won the toss and chose to field first against Gujarat Titans at the venue.
For RCB, the lineup saw a single enforced change as English batter Jacob Bethell was handed his first appearance of the season after Phil Salt was ruled out due to injury. Gujarat Titans, led by Shubman Gill, also made a couple of adjustments: Windies pace-bowling allrounder Jason Holder earned a debut, while Manav Suthar returned to the XI.
Playing XIs
- RCB: Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam Dar
- GT: Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Washington Sundar, Shahrukh Khan, Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Manav Suthar, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj
