NEW DELHI: Gujarat Titans batter Sai Sudharsan was handed yet another head-scratching dismissal in IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 against the Rajasthan Royals, as he was out hit-wicket for the second straight match. The incident unfolded during GT’s pursuit at Mullanpur and left both on-field players and the crowd visibly stunned.
Sudharsan was in fine touch, striking the ball with confidence as he raced to 58 off just 32 deliveries and helped Gujarat build a solid platform alongside captain Shubman Gill. But the turning point came in the 13th over when Sudharsan tried to go after the bowling with an attacking swing against Brijesh Sharma. As he went for the shot, his bat slipped from his grasp and, in the most unusual fashion, cannoned into the stumps.
The moment shocked everyone inside the ground, particularly because a comparable episode had already occurred in Gujarat’s previous outing against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. During the transmission, commentator Ravi Shastri could hardly process what he was seeing. “Where is the fevicol? Where is the glue?” he asked on air, underlining just how bizarre the dismissal looked in real time.
Replays showed the delivery as a low full toss that came in outside the off stump. Sudharsan opened up the bat and cut the ball behind square, a stroke that initially looked destined to sail away for another boundary. However, as he completed the attempt, the bat slipped out of his control and ended up knocking the stumps, resulting in the hit-wicket call.
The dismissal also added a striking statistic to Sudharsan’s record. He has now been dismissed hit-wicket three times in men’s T20 cricket, and all three have come in the IPL. That tally puts him level with Andre Russell and Shoaib Malik for the most hit-wicket dismissals in men’s T20s. Even more remarkable is the fact that, in IPL history, no other batter has been hit-wicketed more than once.
Despite the freak nature of the wicket, Sudharsan’s aggressive innings ensured Gujarat Titans remained firmly in the chase during the knockout contest against Rajasthan Royals.
