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IPL 2026: Bhuvi-Hazlewood Must Break Gill-Sai Stand Early To Split The Final Wide Open, Says Paranjape
Indian Premier League: Former India cricketer and national selector Jatin Paranjape believes the result of Sunday's IPL 2026 final between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad hinges on one question - can Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood break the Shubman Gill-Sai Sudharsan partnership before it takes the game away from RCB?
The Gill-Sudharsan opening pair has been the most dominant partnership in IPL 2026 – they have amassed 886 runs together at an average of 63.3 and a strike rate of 177, the highest aggregate by any opening combination in this season.
The success of that partnership has a near-binary effect on GT's results. When the two bat past the fifth over together, GT have won six of seven games. When the stand is broken before that point, they have won four and lost as many games. The bottom line is simple – GT becomes beatable the moment their openers are separated early.
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