Credit: BCCI/IPL
He needs just 7 runs, not many, to hit 1800 IPL runs and doing simple school boy math suggests, he needs another 207 for the landmark of 2000-IPL runs. That too, won't take long, one reckons.
There’s always a fine experience to note a young cricketer doing so well for his team and truth be told, each time Sai Sudharsan holds the bat and walks down the ground for his Gujarat Titans, it seems the culmination of a hard working story.
A story whose best days lie ahead in the future. This was actually the feeling when the talented and gifted left hander first wielded a cricket bat for his Titans unit, circa IPL 2022.
And this was the feeling when one saw, just a few hours ago, the tall leftie being awarded with the coveted “Emerging Player Of The Year” award for his 2025 exploits.
His Gujarat Titans may not have won a trophy, but Sai Sudharsan did win an award that not only earn him the respect of all those who gathered to see the big fat final IPL contest, but respect from cricket analysts who level a close eye on the sport taking cognisance of who does what and to what degree of respectability.
But having said that, there are countless things to marvel at when it comes to Sai Sudharsan, so let us recollect his 2025 IPL season where he outshone countless batters.
Making the most runs by any batter this season
One of the ways in which an IPL talent is rewarded by the organisation is by identifying the orange cap holder each season. This, undoubtedly means, the batter with most runs in an edition of the tournament. And when it comes to the just completed 2025 season, then Sai Sudharsan scored 759 runs on the whole.
Let that sink in.
759 runs including 1 century and no fewer than 6 half centuries.
But while the huge run stack is one thing and something to truly savour, it beckons much respect to note that Sudharsan, in scoring brilliantly, even outperformed established IPL greats. Think of Virat Kohli, the king. Think also of 'Sky', Suryakumar Yadav. And even the ever improving Shreyas Iyer.
And these are just some of the names.
An emphatic scoring rate
Sai Sudharsan’s 759 runs this time around actually came at a scoring or strike rate that was north of 156. 156 is anyways a huge scoring rate in any form of T20 competition.
Forget not that what it tells us about tie promising young lad who shall hopefully enjoy a long time playing for India.
It tells us that he was comfortable against formidable and high class bowlers of the likes of Arshdeep, Bumrah, Chahal, Chahar, Jamieson, Mukesh, Suyash, and the likes.
Not bad for a man who’s not even played the IPL for half a decade.
Match winning performances
The highest individual score made by Sai Sudharsan this time around in the IPL was his 108 runs. This came down heavily on the unsuspecting Delhi Capitals side, who eventually lost the contest by 10 wickets.
The same contest also saw GT leader, and batsman par excellence, Shubman Gill, with a very fine 93 not out. Sudharsan, at the other end, too remained unbeaten and the duo accounted for a historic match winning partnership.
Rather enormously, Sai Sudharsan just took 61 odd deliveries to reach his 108 runs and the brilliant knock enabled Gujarat to prosper to the business end of the tournament.
Asked to chase 200, when Delhi made a competitive 199, Gujarat batters led by Sai Sudharsan, made light work of the ask with an over to spare. What a win that was.
