NEW CHANDIGARH: B Sai Sudharsan might not have been able to take Gujarat Titans across the line in the Eliminator against Mumbai Indians at the New PCA Stadium, New Chandigarh, but the youngster walked away with plenty of goodwill. Having amassed an impressive 759 runs (No 1 in the list as of May 31), Sudharsan had a remarkable journey. The left-handed batter from Tamil Nadu became the youngest to cross the 700-run mark on Friday. But that was not enough. Despite his contribution of 80 (off 49 balls) on the day, GT fell short of Mumbai’s target to bow out.

Given the team’s lofty ambitions, Sai Sudharsan is certainly stung by this defeat. “I mean it is good to see that I had a good season or I was consistent enough for my team, but I think when the job is not finished, you do not get that ultimate satisfaction when you get back to your home,” he reflected after the match.

“There is a lot of disappointment in the environment because the way we played the first 12 or 13 games, which was fantastic to see as a group or as a team from outside, even when you look at a season like this, I think our team was so good. They did a lot of things really well, so finishing a tournament like this does not give me that complete satisfaction, but appreciating the performances and, of course, learning from it is the thing forward,” Sai Sudharsan added.

Sai Sudharsan now has a fresh challenge in store. Having earned his maiden Test call-up for the five-match series in England, he’ll be looking to keep up his rich run in the five-day format. He was also named in the A-team squad for the second unofficial Test, but Sai Sudharsan was not prepared to leave the IPL before June 4. “We were not thinking about when to leave for India or the Test team, but if that was the plan, we would have left on June 6, but now we will have to have a conversation and see how it goes,” he said.