Given the hard yards the 23-year-old opener put in during the nets sessions, Gujarat Titans assistant coach Parthiv Patel isn’t “surprised” to see Sai Sudharsan enjoying his golden period in the current Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.

The 18th season of the lucrative league has seen Sudharsan go on a run-scoring rampage. He has become a real danger and a contender to take on the other hitters, who all want to win the Orange Cap and finish the tournament as the top run scorer.

During the Titans’ decisive 58-run win against the Rajasthan Royals, he performed the duty of anchor flawlessly. Considering how brutally Nicholas Pooran muscled the ball beyond the boundary rope, it wasn’t the usual explosive effort that has come to define T20 cricket in the modern age.

With 288 runs, Pooran is at the top of the list of top run scorers, and the young southpaw is just behind him. Sudharsan is just 16 runs away from putting an end to Pooran’s reign of supremacy.

With a good strike rate of 154.72, Sudharsan remained composed and hit 82 from 53 deliveries against the Royals, including eight boundaries and three soaring maximums.

Parthiv is not too surprised by Sudharsan’s recent performance. The young southpaw participated in intense net sessions in the lead-up to the IPL, which sometimes led to Sudharsan being pulled out of the practice area.

“After seeing him over the last month or two, I believe he puts in a lot of effort at work. That he is experiencing these types of outcomes doesn’t surprise me in the least. We sometimes had to pull him from the nets. He doesn’t complicate things. It is easy to get carried away in this day and age when you are required to play at a certain strike rate or hit a lot of sixes. However, he supports the idea that he knows his game. At the press conference held after the game, Parthiv informed reporters, “That is why you see consistent performances from him.”

GT reached a commanding 217/6 thanks to Sudharsan’s 82-run blitzkrieg and helpful contributions in the latter stages. The Titans’ bowling crew was ready to wow the audience with their magic.

Prashidh Krishna (3/24) tested the speed gun without effort, sometimes reaching 145 kph. Sai Kishore maintained his prolific form with the ball and cleaned up the tail end to hammer the last nail in the coffin of RR’s quest of 218. Rashid Khan (2/37) was GT’s ace in the hole, and he resumed his methods of collecting wickets.

Parthiv believes that Sai Kishore is the greatest spinner in the league so far, even though Rashid and other ball tweakers from other teams are good spinners.

Prasidh Krishna has been outstanding throughout the competition, while Siraj is bowling brilliantly. The best spinner in this competition so far is most likely Sai Kishore. how courageous he is and how he bowls. You see a new bowler come up every game, and that’s what bowlers do to win you the match,” he said.

Even though the left-arm wrist spinner for the Chennai Super Kings has been outstanding with the ball so far in the competition, Kishore has quietly developed a strategy to make use of his skill set. With 10 scalps from five games, Kishore is just one scalp away from matching Noor’s 11-wicket total.