Fastest to 2,000 IPL Runs: Sai Sudharsan breaks Chris Gayle's record; check top five batters

NEW DELHI: Sai Sudharsan etched his name in the IPL record books on Friday, becoming the fastest batter to reach 2,000 runs in the tournament during Gujarat Titans’ clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

The GT opener achieved the milestone in just 47 innings, surpassing Chris Gayle, who had taken 48 innings to reach the same mark. Sudharsan entered the match needing 72 runs and crossed the 2,000-run milestone with a composed knock.

Fewest innings to 2,000 IPL runs:

• 47 – Sai Sudharsan*
• 48 – Chris Gayle
• 52 – Shaun Marsh
• 57 – Ruturaj Gaikwad
• 60 – KL Rahul

Among Indian players, Sudharsan is also among the quickest to 2,000 IPL runs in terms of balls faced, joining an elite list led by Abhishek Sharma and Virender Sehwag.

Before this match, Sudharsan had scored 1,928 runs in 46 matches at an average of 45.90 and a strike rate of 145.83, including two centuries and 13 fifties.

Earlier, RCB skipper Rajat Patidar won the toss and opted to bowl. The hosts made one change, handing a season debut to England batter Jacob Bethell in place of the injured Phil Salt.

GT, led by Shubman Gill, made a couple of changes, including a debut for West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder, while Manav Suthar returned to the playing XI.