Washington Sundar's 33-ball fifty hauls GT to the top of the IPL 2026 table
Sai Sudharsan got the headline. Kagiso Rabada and Jason Holder, three wickets each in a chase that fell apart for 86, got the bowling write-ups. But Gujarat Titans only had a target worth defending against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday night because Washington Sundar walked in after the powerplay and built one.
GT were 68 for 3 ten overs in at the Narendra Modi Stadium, and the innings was drifting. Sudharsan was set but anchored; the score needed a partner. Sundar took the second job without complaint, ticked the ones over for a while, and then opened up against Eshan Malinga and Sakib Hussain at the death. His 50 came off 33 deliveries with seven fours and a six, and the 60-run fourth-wicket stand dragged the total to 168 for 5. SRH, all out for 86 in 14.5 with only four batters into double figures, never came close.
A finisher role taking shape
This is the third time in his last few outings that Sundar has done something close to this. He stayed unbeaten on 40 off 23 to break Punjab Kings' hearts late in a chase a few games back. He stayed unbeaten on 37 against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur when GT needed a steady hand at the death. Tuesday's 50 was the loudest of the three because of the situation he came in at, but the pattern is the same one each time: walk in mid-innings, read what the rest of the order needs, switch gears when the bowling can be hit.
GT's quietest contributor with the table to show
Sudharsan has the runs column and Rabada has the wickets column, but Sundar is the one converting half-built platforms into posting scores, and on a night when SRH won the toss at a packed Modi Stadium and chose to bowl first against the form team in the tournament that distinction matters. Gujarat sit top of the IPL 2026 points table with 16 points from 12 matches, almost certain of a playoff slot. Two games left and a side that has now been carried over the line by its lower-middle order more than once.
The other read is the India one. With the spin-bowling all-rounder seat still being argued over for the white-ball setup, an in-form Sundar in May is a useful timing for the selectors and a tougher conversation for the alternatives. None of that matters to GT in the next fortnight, but the audition is happening at the right end of the season.
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