Gujarat Titans (GT) opening batters Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan notched up centuries against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the ongoing 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday May 10. This exceptional performance now places them as holders of the highest joint opening partnership record in the tournaments history.
Following Wriddhiman Saha’s injury, Sudharsan was given another opportunity to start the batting. Shubman Gill had the left-hand-right-hand opening combination down pat from the start.
Initially, the skipper was the aggressor, taking on CSK’s patchwork bowling attack. Sai Sudharsan grew into the competition and seamlessly switched gears after settling down. The combination scored 58 runs in the powerplay before going crazy in the middle overs.
The two had the biggest wicket partnership in team history, but they weren’t done yet. Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan had a message to make and some unfinished business, respectively.
Simarjeet Singh delivered a full ball, and the skipper hit a boundary to achieve his century. He hit the ball to deep square leg and yelled at the top of his lungs, expelling all of his aggravation from his recent poor form and exclusion from Team India’s 2024 T20 World Cup roster.
Sai Sudharsan, on the other side, failed to score his first IPL century in the 2023 IPL final at the same stadium against the same opponents. However, he was not about to miss out this time. The left-handed batsman achieved three figures with a daring shot beyond the fine-leg boundary in the same over. His celebration was relatively modest compared to Shubman Gill’s.
Take a look at how both hitters achieved the milestone number:
The combination scored 210 runs for the opening wicket, matching the record established by the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) opening pair of KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 2022 season.
Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill Fall to Tushar Deshpande in the Same Over in GT vs CSK IPL 2024 Clash
The partnership struggled to capitalise on the death overs after starting from ball one, finally succumbing to fatigued strokes in the 18th over against Tushar Deshpande.
“The wicket is great to bat on. We can never say how much is enough. Mixing it well and going wider will be a great option. It will be a great game. Little bit at the start, it was sticking. Going forward, it got better. Compared to the seam-up balls, the slower ones are gripping a little.”
Sai Sudharsan
GT scored 231/3 on the basis of the dominant performance in the first innings.
