2 min readUpdated: May 4, 2026 10:30 AM IST
Sai Sudharsan’s 57 in 41 balls ended up playing a crucial role in Gujarat Titans’ nervy win over Punjab Kings in the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Monday. In the process, 24-year-old GT opener ended up breaking a record that has been held by West Indies legend Chris Gayle for 13 years.
This was Sudharsan’s 50th innings in the IPL and he ended the night with a career tally of 2178 runs in the tournament. This makes him the batter with the most runs after his first 50 innings in the IPL, surpassing Gayle’s 2061 runs in his first 50 innings. Earlier this season, Sudharsan had broken Gayle’s record and became the fastest batter to reach 2000 career runs in the IPL. Sudharsan got there in 47 innings while Gayle took 48.
Sudharsan has grown to be an integral part of GT’s plans since making his IPL debut for them in 2022. Last season, he scored a whopping 759 runs in 15 innings at a strike rate of 156.17 and average of 54.21 with a century and six half-centuries. This year, he has scored 385 runs thus far in 10 innings with a strike rate of 158.43 at 38.50 with a century and three half-centuries.
While GT had a somewhat shaky start, things seem to now be falling in place for them as the race for the playoffs heats up. The victory against Punjab Kings was their third consecutive win and importantly, it was against a side who had suffered their first loss of the season only in their previous match.
Jason Holder led the way with figures of 4/24 as he and fellow fast bowlers Mohammed Siraj (2/28) and Kagiso Rabada (2/22) restricted the mighty PBKS batting lineup to a score of 163/9. Sudharsan lost opening partner and captain Shubman Gill early and it was a rather scruffy stand with Jos Buttler for the rest of the powerplay. He eventually fell to Vijaykumar Vyshak in the 15th over. However, Washington Sundar’s unbeaten 40 in 23 balls powered GT to victory.
