Gujarat Titans batter Sai Sudharsan delivered a statement display in IPL 2026 on Friday, striking a century off just 57 balls against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. His innings featured 11 boundaries to go with five maximums, as he restored his rhythm in style after a comparatively quiet start to the season. Coming into the game, Sudharsan had managed only 135 runs across his first six IPL 2026 innings, with just a single fifty, but versus RCB he looked fluent and assured, keeping the momentum flowing and sustaining control over the scoring rate.
Sudharsan’s batting was especially comfortable during the powerplay, where he faced the bulk of the deliveries and ensured Gujarat Titans were set up well for a substantial total. He appeared untroubled against the RCB pace attack, taking on Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood with confidence and composure. The knock also carried a notable landmark: he became the 14th batter in IPL history to register a century against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and the second player from Gujarat Titans to do so after Shubman Gill, who achieved the feat against RCB in IPL 2023.
“It was always coming. I was timing the ball well in the last few innings and I’m really grateful to God. I’m happy to contribute to the team. With the level of communication we had, we understood the wicket would play in a two-speed way—something sticky—and it felt natural to take the game deeper,” Sudharsan said during the innings break. He added about his celebration, “About the fist-pump: I set very high standards for myself, and I want to keep my team in a good position. I’ve been getting starts but not finishing, so for me it meant more than just a hundred. I didn’t try to over-control the innings—I let it unfold properly today. Personally, I think it’s a really good score for the bowlers because it’s not easy to hit shots; it’s not so true.”
Sudharsan also makes IPL history with fastest 2,000-run milestone
Even before the century, Sudharsan had already etched his name into IPL record books by becoming the quickest batter to reach 2,000 runs. He achieved the milestone in only 47 innings, surpassing the previous benchmark held by Chris Gayle, who had taken 48 innings to get to the same total. Sudharsan now sits on more than 2,000 runs from 47 matches, backing up the landmark with strong numbers across both average and strike rate—evidence of his consistency at the top of the order, where he has delivered multiple fifties and several centuries.
For Gujarat Titans, he became only the second player—after Shubman Gill—to reach the 2,000-run mark for the franchise. At the end of nine overs in the match, Sudharsan was on 85 off 49 balls, leading the innings with nine fours and four sixes. He also reached the landmark by facing 1,361 balls, placing him among the quickest in terms of deliveries required to hit 2,000 runs.
His record places him in an elite company that includes Abhishek Sharma, Virender Sehwag, and Rishabh Pant, underlining how steadily he has been accumulating runs over time.
