Media365
NEW DELHI: Gujarat Titans openers Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan continued their record-breaking run in IPL 2026, once again tearing apart the bowling attack during the clash against Chennai Super Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday. The GT opening duo produced yet another commanding partnership and, in the process, entered an elite list in T20 cricket history. Gill and Sudharsan registered their 10th century stand together in men’s T20 cricket, equalling the all-time record jointly held by the legendary pairs of Chris Gayle-Virat Kohli, Babar Azam-Mohammad Rizwan and AB de Villiers-Virat Kohli. What makes the achievement even more staggering is the speed at which the GT pair has got there. Gill and Sudharsan needed only 46 innings to complete 10 century stands – far fewer than the other legendary pairs on the list. Gayle and Kohli took 63 innings, Babar and Rizwan 75, while de Villiers and Kohli required 77 innings.
- Most century stands in men’s T20 cricket (any wicket)
- 10 — Shubman Gill & Sai Sudharsan (46 innings)
- 10 —
Chris Gayle &Virat Kohli (63 innings) - 10 — Babar Azam & Mohammad Rizwan (75 innings)
- 10 — AB de Villiers & Virat Kohli (77 innings)
The pair also set another IPL record during the innings. This was Gill and Sudharsan’s seventh century partnership for the opening wicket in IPL history – the most by any opening pair in the tournament. They went past the iconic combinations of David Warner & Shikhar Dhawan and Travis Head & Abhishek Sharma, both of whom had six century opening stands.Gill and Sudharsan also continued their dominance in terms of consistency. The duo overtook the celebrated Virat Kohli-Faf du Plessis pair and equalled Rohit Sharma-Ishan Kishan for the second-most 50-plus opening stands in IPL history.The GT pair now has 15 fifty-plus opening partnerships in just 31 innings — a phenomenal ratio rarely seen in IPL history. Only Warner and Dhawan are ahead with 18 fifty-plus stands, but they needed 48 innings to achieve the feat.
- Most 50-plus opening stands in IPL history
- 18 — David Warner & Shikhar Dhawan (48 innings)
- 15 — Rohit Sharma & Ishan Kishan (43 innings)
- 15 — Shubman Gill & Sai Sudharsan (31 innings)
- 14 — Virat Kohli & Faf du Plessis (38 innings)
- 14 — Abhishek Sharma & Travis Head (37 innings)
The numbers become even more extraordinary when one looks at the overall run aggregate and scoring rate. Gill and Sudharsan have already piled up 1898 runs together as an opening pair at an astonishing average of 67.78 and a run-rate of 9.87 – making them one of the most destructive and reliable opening combinations the league has ever seen.Only Warner and Dhawan have scored more runs as an IPL opening pair, but the GT duo enjoys a significantly superior average and scoring tempo compared to most other partnerships on the list.
- Highest opening partnership aggregates in IPL history
- 2220 — David Warner & Shikhar Dhawan (Avg: 47.23, RR: 8.59)
- 1898 — Shubman Gill & Sai Sudharsan (Avg: 67.78, RR: 9.87)
- 1890 — Virat Kohli & Faf du Plessis (Avg: 51.08, RR: 9.00)
- 1755 — Abhishek Sharma & Travis Head (Avg: 47.43, RR: 12.41)
- 1547 — Rohit Sharma & Ishan Kishan (Avg: 35.97, RR: 9.02)
The match also turned into a personal milestone for Gujarat Titans skipper Gill, who became the seventh-fastest batter in men’s T20 cricket to complete 6000 runs in terms of innings. Gill reached the landmark in his 185th innings, only marginally behind Kohli, who had taken 184 innings.
- Fastest to 6000 T20 runs (by innings)
- 162 — Chris Gayle
- 165 — Babar Azam
- 166 — KL Rahul
- 180 — Shaun Marsh
- 180 — Devon Conway
- 184 — Virat Kohli
- 185 — Shubman Gill
Gill’s feat becomes even more remarkable considering he is among only four players in men’s T20 cricket history to aggregate more than 6000 runs before turning 27. The elite list also includes Babar Azam, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Will Jacks.Gujarat Titans have already qualified for the playoffs.
