New Delhi: If ever there was a list of unlucky dismissals in IPL history, Sai Sudharsan’s wicket in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2026 would surely be at the top.After Royal Challengers Bengaluru posted a mammoth 254/5 against Gujarat Titans at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala on Tuesday, the pressure was on for GT openers Sudharsan and Shubman Gill to get off to a flying start.Sudharsan started aggressively, hitting two fours in the opening over bowled by Jacob Duffy. He then hit another boundary when Duffy returned in his second over.But then came a strange moment that changed the mood completely.Duffy bowled a good length ball short off and Sudarsan fell behind before attempting a cut shot towards point. However, as he completed the stroke, the bat left his hands, flew behind him and bounced back onto the stumps.Sudharsan initially did not realize what had happened and had already started running. But the GT opener was stunned when he turned around to see Stump upset.The left-hander closed his eyes in frustration and disbelief before slowly making his way back to the pavilion after the most unfortunate dismissal seen in the history of the IPL playoffs.Look: Sudharsan Kosal became only the second batsman to be dismissed on a hit wicket in an IPL playoff/knockout after Mendes, who had a similar dismissal for Gujarat Titans against Mumbai Indians in New Chandigarh last year.RCB tightened their grip on the contest soon after as Bhuvneshwar Kumar removed GT skipper Gill cheaply in the next over, leaving the Gujarat Titans to chase in a big way.Earlier, RCB skipper Rajat Patidar smashed Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s record 254/5 with a sensational unbeaten 93 off just 33 balls.Patidar saved his best for the knockout clash, hitting five fours and nine huge sixes to completely flatten the GT bowling attack.The RCB captain was particularly fierce on Kluwant Khajrulia, conceding 28 runs in an over during his charming attack.Virat Kohli and Krunal Pandya also contributed valuable partnership with 43 and 43 runs respectively.
