Sai Sudharsan lit up the Narendra Modi Stadium with a record-breaking innings as Gujarat Titans secured a dominant 58-run victory over Rajasthan Royals in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.&nbsp;
The 23-year-old batter scored a commanding 82 off 53 balls, his sixth fifty at the venue along with a century, in a performance that rewrote multiple records. He became the first Indian player to register five consecutive 50-plus scores at a single venue in the Indian Premier League.&nbsp;
With 1,307 runs in his first 30 IPL innings, Sudharsan now holds the second-highest aggregate in league history at that stage, behind only Shaun Marsh&rsquo;s 1,338. Among Indian players, no batter &mdash; including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma &mdash; has reached the 1,000-run mark in their first 30 innings, with Ruturaj Gaikwad next best on 977 runs.
Sudharsan&rsquo;s innings laid the foundation for Gujarat Titans&rsquo; mammoth total of 217 for 6 after Rajasthan Royals chose to bowl first. The decision backfired as Sudharsan overcame a challenging opening spell from Jofra Archer before launching into an array of strokes.&nbsp;
He ramped Fazalhaq Farooqi for six, then punished Tushar Deshpande with two boundaries and another six in the next over.
Reaching his half-century off 31 balls &mdash; his third of the season &mdash; Sudharsan built a second-wicket stand of 80 runs from 47 balls with Jos Buttler. He later added a rapid 62-run partnership off 34 deliveries with fellow Tamil Nadu batter Shahrukh Khan, who contributed a powerful 52 off 32 balls, marking his first IPL fifty in over two years.&nbsp;
Sudharsan&rsquo;s fine innings ended in the 19th over, caught behind off an inside edge to Deshpande.
In response, Rajasthan Royals were dismissed for 159, unable to recover after early setbacks despite a brief fightback. Shimron Hetmyer led their chase with a 32-ball 52, his first IPL half-century since scoring 56 not out at the same venue two years ago &mdash; a match which remains Royals&rsquo; only win over Titans in the league.
Hetmyer, long criticised for inconsistency in the death overs, counterattacked effectively alongside Sanju Samson. He took on Rashid Khan, against whom he had been dismissed six times in T20s prior to this match, striking him for two sixes and two fours. His fifty came off 29 balls, offering Royals a flicker of hope.
That resistance faded when Samson was dismissed in the 12th over, and Hetmyer followed in the 16th, falling to Prasidh Krishna. The Titans&rsquo; bowlers, disciplined and relentless, wrapped up the innings clinically, sealing a one-sided contest in front of a raucous home crowd.
The match marked the fourth straight IPL fixture in which a team successfully defended a total above 200.
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Sai Sudharsan became the first Indian to hit five 50+ scores at one venue as Gujarat Titans thrashed Royals

Sudharsan Becomes First Indian Batter with Venue Record

Sai Sudharsan became the first Indian to hit five 50+ scores at one venue as Gujarat Titans thrashed Royals

April 10, 2025 | 11:26 IST