Last Updated on 21 seconds ago by Charbel Coorey
Sai Sudharsan scored 100 runs off 58 deliveries against the defending champions RCB in the 34th match of IPL 2026. Gujarat Titans managed to score only 205 at end of 20 overs despite Sudharsan’s century and the fact they only lost three wickets.
The Titans lost Shubman Gill for 128 runs in the 13th over. Sudharsan’s knock was under scrutiny as many think that he took a lot of deliveries for his hundred, and GT was at least 15 runs short as he took 12 deliveries to score his last 18 runs to reach his century.
Ian Bishop on Sai Sudharsan: Limitations, but did his job
Talking on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut Show, former West Indian fast bowler and one of the best commentators going around, Ian Bishop, said that Sai Sudharsan has his limitations, but he did his job.
“He’s one of the guys that needed to step up his aggression level. His aggression level for the most part of the innings was, I thought, outstanding for a very orthodox player. That hundred will be very, very pleasing for him and the GT dugout and for the IPL as a whole. He did his part; if we are asking other guys that should’ve stepped up, I think Sai Sudharsan did his part,” Bishop said.
Bishop further added, “What I would say is he has his limitations, right? I wouldn’t put him in the class of, let’s say, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi or Abhishek Sharma. He does what he does. So a hundred of 58 deliveries, Sanju got his hundred off 54 deliveries, so he does a particular job, and I’m not classifying him with the Travis Heads and Abhishek Sharmas.”
Bishop put the onus on others around Sudharsan to strike well from the word go. GT rely heavily on their top three, which is an issue going forward.
“What they have to do with him is the other guys around him, the Jos Buttlers and the Washington Sundars, have to come in and strike at, maybe, 160, 170, and above alongside Sai Sudharsan, whose game is improving,” Bishop said.
“The team ethos has to be slightly different than maybe one or two of the other lineups around.”
“He plays orthodox and calculative cricket and hits the ball on merit”: Dale Steyn on Sai Sudharsan
During the same show, former South African pacer and a legend of the game, Dale Steyn, said, “I just think he plays orthodox cricket, you know, like he plays good cricket shots; he hits the ball on merit. He takes the ball on when he has to, he makes calculated risks, and it’s not like he’s running out there recklessly, swinging off his hip to try and score runs. Similar to the way that Sanju Samson got his hundred the other night.
“I think it’s calculated; you know, he knows exactly how and where he wants to score his runs, and then he puts on a show,” he ended.
After the loss against RCB, Gujarat Titans sit seventh in the points table with three wins and four defeats. It was their second consecutive loss, and next, they will be facing CSK on April 26th.
