The penultimate game of the 2026 season of the Indian Premier League saw a fitting contest and a thrilling one at that between the Gujarat Titans and the Rajasthan Royals. Yet another contest, where a side batting first posted a comfortable score North of 200 and then the side chasing second actually ended up chasing that score, which clearly means that the stakes in batting are at an all time high, but so is the skill level and the eventual success that it pays off where batters are concerned.

Isn’t it?

What was implicit in this contest was to note the fact that the key batters repaid the faith of those who backed them, and emerged with top scores that propelled their teams to much success.

While we had Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the daring left hander with the incredible score, a knock which almost became a century before being held up on the other hand, captain Shubman Gill at the other end, lead brilliantly by example, and scored a top notch century.  

It was a century that came in high-stakes contest, remember.

But then, at the same time, there was a bit of a disappointment in there as well, especially where Gujarat Titans and their batting was concerned. Whilst Sai Sudharsan, who has hit comfortably North of 600 runs up to this point scored yet another half century and one that starred in a match winning cause, it was the manner of his dismissal that caught the eye of the critics and the fans alike.

In fact so much so that the mode of his dismissal left his captain gutted, with Gill, batting at the non-striker’s end, left horrendously surprised about what just had happened in the middle.

Soon as Sai Sudharsan was out dismissed hit wicket, but not before, he had actually executed an elegant shot through square of the region with the ball reaching the fence, his bat left his grip, and once again fell onto the stumps. Right onto the middle! What one saw was the sad reaction of Gill at the other end. It was quite visible to the eye that Gill was left, so shocked and stunt, seeing his batting partner at the other and replicate the unwanted mode of dismissal that Gill himself reached for the ground, as if kneeling to highlight his despair at what he had just seen.

While the talent and the capability of Sai is second to none, and he is a class act, as we all know, it’s the suddenness of him being dismissed- hit wicket- that has caught the attention of everyone. And at the same time sparked a debate, perhaps pointing to the fact that there might be a technical glitch that he should now immediately correct.

For if it’s not done, he might just keep getting dismissed in a similar fashion and that something he would not want. For his captain. Ditto for Gujarat Titans.

No batter ever wants to get out hit wicket. That’s the dismissal where it clearly shows that the bowler hasn’t worked hard to get the batsman out, and that a man himself plots his downfall. Which was also the case with Sai.