Opener Sai Sudharsan smashed a 61-ball 108 not out to power Gujarat Titans into the IPL 2025 playoffs with a commanding 10-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals (DC) in New Delhi on Sunday night (May 18).

The win put GT on top of the table with 18 points from 12 games.

Also read: 3 teams qualify for playoffs

Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who are both on 17 points after 12 matches, also qualified for the knockout stages.

For GT, openers Sai Sudharsan (108 not out off 61 balls) and Shubman Gill (93 not out off 53 deliveries) chased down the 200-run target with six balls to spare. The duo added 205 runs for the unbroken first wicket stand in 19 overs.

GT race to 31/0 in 2 overs

While Sudharsan struck 12 boundaries and four sixes, Gill clobbered seven sixes and three fours during the unbeaten stand.

DC’s ploy to open with a spin-pace combination backfired as GT raced to 31 without loss in two overs, with Sudharsan plundering 20 runs off T Natarajan, including three fours and a six. Axar Patel too was expensive, conceding 11 and 12 in his first two overs.

Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman and Sri Lanka’s Dushmantha Chameera briefly stemmed the flow of runs with tidy spells as GT reached 59 for no loss at the end of the powerplay.

The spin duo of Vipraj Nigam and Kuldeep Yadav was introduced soon after, but DC burned two reviews in successive overs — both involving Sudharsan. The left-hander first survived a caught-behind appeal off Vipraj on 44, and then a leg-before shout off Kuldeep on 46, much to the home team’s frustration.

Gill changes gears

Sudharsan brought up his half-century with a boundary off Axar in the ninth over.

Gill, who had been playing second fiddle until then, shifted gears and began dealing in sixes. He slog-swept Axar over deep midwicket, danced down to Kuldeep for a flat six, and followed it up with another clean hit over Vipraj’s head.

He then flicked Chameera over deep midwicket before bringing up his fifty off 33 balls — his first four of the innings coming in the 13th over. He added another six off Vipraj as DC’s bowling wilted.

With both openers in full flow, GT hammered four consecutive overs of double-digit scores from the ninth to the twelfth to wrest control of the chase, reaching 154 in 15 overs.

Sudharsan clobbered Kuldeep for a straight six to bring up his century off just 56 balls and fittingly finished the match with another six off Vipraj in the 19th over.

DC score 199/3

Earlier, invited to bat, opener KL Rahul displayed great intent on a slow and grippy wicket to score his fifth IPL century as Delhi Capitals scored 199 for 3.

Rahul scored a 65-ball unbeaten 112. Promoted to open the innings, Rahul rose to the occasion in style, hammering 14 fours and four sixes during his knock. In the process, he became the third fastest to 8,000 T20 runs, reaching the milestone in 224 innings.

Early blow for DC

Asked to bat first, DC suffered an early blow when Faf du Plessis (5) was dismissed by Arshad Khan (1/7 in 2 overs) in the fourth over.

Rahul, however, anchored the innings with composure and aggression, forging a 90-run stand off 52 balls with Abishek Porel (30), followed by a 45-run partnership in 26 balls with skipper Axar Patel (25), and an unbroken 48-run stand off 22 deliveries with Tristan Stubbs (21 not out).

Rahul was in complete control, peppering the offside with crisp cut shots and clearing the ropes with ease. He pulled Kagiso Rabada over long leg for his first six, and followed it up with another over long-off.

5th IPL ton for Rahul

Abishek chipped in with two sixes before falling to Sai Kishore, but Rahul continued to accelerate, finding three fortunate boundaries in a single over off the left-arm spinner.

Axar joined the act with a four and a six off Sai Kishore to push the score past 150, before being dismissed by Prasidh Krishna.

Rahul kept the momentum going, launching two sixes in the 19th over to bring up his century in 60 balls — his first ton this season and fifth in the IPL.

Stubbs provided the finishing touches with a couple of big hits as DC finished just shy of the 200-run mark.

(With agency inputs)