TimesofIndia.com in Ahmedabad: Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan are not just scoring runs; they are redefining batting partnerships in T20 cricket. With another season of 700-plus runs each, the Gujarat Titans opening pair has entered elite territory. They have matched and surpassed records once dominated by legends such as Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Their remarkable consistency and understanding at the top have made them one of the most prolific batting duos the format has ever witnessed.The Gujarat Titans pair now have eight century partnerships for the opening wicket, the joint-most in men’s T20 cricket alongside Pakistan’s Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. Their tally of 2,944 runs together in the IPL is already the second-highest partnership aggregate in the tournament’s history, behind only the 3,123 runs amassed by Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers between 2011 and 2020.Remarkably, Gill and Sudharsan have achieved this since only IPL 2022, when Sudharsan was still finding his feet in GT’s debut season. Their individual numbers have been equally impressive. After Sudharsan claimed the Orange Cap with 759 runs last year and Gill finished fourth with 650, the duo has once again dominated the charts in 2026, with Gill scoring 722 runs and Sudharsan 710, both surpassed only by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Gill has also held a slight edge in scoring rate this season, striking at 163.71 compared to Sudharsan’s 159.55, while being particularly aggressive in the powerplay, where he has scored at 159.20 against his partner’s 145.02.At times, there has been criticism as well on GT because of their overreliance on this duo. However, their appetite for runs has never been in doubt.Shubman and Sai are more traditional openers. They prefer to pick gaps rather than going bang bang. Their strength is playing proper cricket shots, which was visible during their 167-run stand against Rajasthan Royals in the Qualifier 2.Gill at the pre-final press conference in Mullanpur after GT’s win over RR acknowledged how him and Sai over the years have forged a relationship on and off the field.“We spend a lot of time in the IPL together, on the field, off the field as well, and then we are in the Test team as well, so, we have a lot of conversations,” he told reporters.
“There are things that, we talk about, about cricket outside of cricket. Not just for them, but I think, there are many players in our team that also plays for the country, and hopefully we’re going to play together for a long period of time. It’s very important for us to know each other well, to have a great equation, that automatically transcends to on field performances, I believe,” he added. Gill was particularly effusive in his praise for his GT opening partner, and spoke at length about the southpaw’s strength. “When I first started playing the IPL, one of the challenges that I faced was to keep playing the matches at the same intensity. I think that is one of his biggest strengths of Sai,” he said. “You play so many matches, there could be days where mentally you don’t feel up to the mark, or physically you don’t feel up to the mark, but to be able to have the same intensity in all of the matches and be consistent in your preparation, in your routine, is not that easy, and he’s someone who is very consistent in his routines, in his life outside of cricket. So that’s what makes him consistent on the field as well,” added Gill. GT’s director of cricket, Vikram Solanki, too had hailed the appetite for runs the duo have in them. “It is on the back of a lot of hard work. I can only imagine all of the work that Shubman has put in throughout his career to get to where he is as far as his batting is concerned. He’s an exceptional young man. And sometimes you have to realise he’s still a young man. And to be playing the cricket that he is, to be batting the way he is, is just phenomenal.“And Sai is no less so. He might be a little younger in his journey, but you can see that he takes a fine example from Shubman and understands that actually his skills are what you and I might view as batsmanship, the sort of traditional form of batting. But there is no doubt in my mind that if a situation requires them to up the run rate and the wicket actually suits them playing that way, then they can adapt. And I think that’s their finest quality, their ability to adapt, given any sort of situation, given any wicket, given any opposition. That along with the fact that they have an immense appetite for run-scoring. Good habits to have,” Solanki said at the press conference after GT’s win.Records have followed Gill and Sudharsan wherever they have batted this season, but neither statistics nor milestones are likely to matter as much as what awaits in the final. One last partnership this season and one more statement at the top could turn a remarkable season into a championship-winning one.
