Gujarat Titans (GT) have reached the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season by defeating Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Qualifier 2 clash on Friday, May 29 at the New PCA Stadium in Mullanpur. Sai Sudharsan played a key role in GT's win over RR while chasing a big target of 215.
Sai Sudharsan joins Virat Kohli in elite club
The left-handed opener smashed 58 runs off 32 deliveries at a strike rate of 181.25 with the help of eight boundaries and one six. However, his innings met an unfortunate end, as he got hit-wicket off Brijesh Sharma's bowling in the 13th over. Despite his bad luck, Sudharsan managed to join Virat Kohli in an elite club.
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With another half-century in a key game for GT, Sudharsan leveled Virat Kohli's record of scoring most fifties in a single IPL season by an Indian batter. In the ongoing season, Sai has smashed eight half-centuries and one century, whereas Virat Kohli also scored eight fifties in the 2025 edition of the tournament.
Big feat for Sai Sudharsan
So far in the history of IPL, no other Indian batter apart from Kohli and Sudharsan has managed to achieve the feat. However the overall record for the most number of fifties in a single season belongs to David Warner, who smashed nine fifties in IPL 2016.
Most half-centuries in a single IPL edition
| Player | Team | Matches | Runs | 50s | Year |
| David Warner | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 17 | 848 | 9 | 2016 |
| Kane Williamson | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 17 | 735 | 8 | 2018 |
| David Warner | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 12 | 692 | 8 | 2019 |
| Faf du Plessis | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 14 | 730 | 8 | 2023 |
| Virat Kohli | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 15 | 657 | 8 | 2025 |
| Sai Sudharsan | Gujarat Titans | 16 | 710 | 8 | 2026 |
| Chris Gayle | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 15 | 733 | 7 | 2012 |
| David Warner | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 14 | 562 | 7 | 2015 |
| Virat Kohli | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 16 | 973 | 7 | 2016 |
GT eye IPL 2026 title
After defeating RR in the Qualifier 2, GT will gear up to lock horns against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final game of the tournament on Sunday May 21, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Earlier, RCB defeated GT by a big margin in the Qualifier 1 clash, now, it will be interesting to see if GT can take the revenge by becoming the champions.