Sai Sudharsan Eyes Record Against RCB in IPL Clash

Sai Sudharsan's Chance to Make IPL History

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 24: As the Gujarat Titans prepare to face the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Sai Sudharsan has a remarkable opportunity to etch his name in IPL history by surpassing West Indies great Chris Gayle for the quickest 2,000 runs in the league.

RCB is eager to recover from a nail-biting finish against the Delhi Capitals, aiming for their fifth victory of the season. Meanwhile, the Titans, currently seventh in the standings with three wins and three losses, will clash with RCB at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday. Sudharsan, who has struggled this season, hopes to regain the form that made him one of the top batters in the IPL over the last two years.

Throughout his IPL career, Sudharsan has played 46 matches and batted in 46 innings, accumulating 1,928 runs with an impressive average of 45.90 and a strike rate of 145.83, which includes two centuries and 13 fifties. If he manages to score 72 more runs in today's match, he will become the fastest player to reach 2,000 runs in just 47 innings, surpassing Gayle, who achieved this milestone in 48 innings.

This season, Sudharsan has only managed to score 135 runs across six innings, averaging 22.50 with a strike rate exceeding 145. His standout performance was a half-century and a score of 73 against the Rajasthan Royals. In the other five innings, he has only crossed the 20-run mark once.

The Titans have felt the impact of Sudharsan's lack of runs, as their middle-order, featuring players like Shahrukh Khan, Glenn Phillips, and Rahul Tewatia, has struggled with consistency. Improving their performance would alleviate some pressure on the top-order batsmen, including Sudharsan, captain Shubman Gill, and Jos Buttler.

Squads:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Squad: Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar, Venkatesh Iyer, Jordan Cox, Mangesh Yadav, Vicky Ostwal, Jacob Duffy, Swapnil Singh, Nuwan Thushara, Jacob Bethell, Vihaan Malhotra, Abhinandan Singh, Kanishk Chouhan, Satvik Deswal

Gujarat Titans Squad: Shubman Gill(c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler(w), Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna, Ashok Sharma, Rahul Tewatia, Jason Holder, Manav Suthar, Kulwant Khejroliya, Anuj Rawat, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav, Luke Wood, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Kumar Kushagra, Arshad Khan, Gurnoor Brar, Nishant Sindhu, Connor Esterhuizen.