Ruturaj Gaikwad burst onto the cricketing scene with three consecutive half-centuries for Chennai Super Kings in IPL’s 13th edition. The start, however, was not easy for the right-hander. In the first three matches that he played for the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2020, he could score a total of 5 runs but the tables turned from the fourth match. He scored a brilliant half-century against Royal Challengers Bangalore and followed it with two more to finish the season with three 50 plus scores.
Ruturaj continued IPL 2021 from where had left in the previous season and played crucial knocks in CSK’s successful campaign. The young batter continued his great form in domestic tournaments like Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Trophy, and made it difficult for selectors to not pick him up for the Indian side. As he celebrates his 25th birthday on January 31, we take a look at some of his best innings in recent times
65 vs RCB, IPL 2020
The start to Ruturaj’s IPL journey was met with three consecutive failures but in his fourth game, against RCB, things looked a bit different. Chasing a target of 146 runs, Ruturaj not only got his team off to a good start but also anchored the innings with Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu and later with MS Dhoni. The young batter in this process completed his maiden IPL half-century and finished the game with a victory and 65 runs to his credit.
75 vs SRH, IPL 2021
After languishing at the bottom of the points table in the 2020 IPL, CSK made a strong comeback last year. And a large credit of this strong performance went to its solid opening partnerships. One of which came in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Chasing a target of 172, CSK got off to a firm start with Ruturaj and du Plessis launching an attack on the bowlers. Ruturaj scored a half-century in 36 balls and went on to score 75 runs before being bowled out by Rashid Khan. The game ended in a victory for the CSK.
101 vs Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2021
Ruturaj looked in great touch during the entire 2021 season of IPL, but the peak came in the game against Rajasthan Royals in Abu Dhabi. He started his innings steadily, scoring runs on bad deliveries but once he got hold of things, there was no stopping him. After scoring a 50 in 43 deliveries, Ruturaj launched a lethal attack on RR bowling. In his next 17 deliveries, Ruturaj brought up 50 runs and completed his hundred with a six on the last ball of the CSK innings.
168 vs Chandigarh, Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021
Ruturaj had a brilliant season in the 2021 Vijay Hazare Trophy as he scored four centuries. This included a 168-run knock against Chandigarh while batting for his team Maharashtra. Chasing a massive target of 310 runs, Ruturaj scored runs at a quick pace and completed his century in 85 balls. After reaching triple figures, the right-hander changed gears of his innings and scored the next 68 runs in 36 balls to tilt the game in his team’s favour.
85 vs Odisha, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, 2021
After a glorious run in IPL, Ruturaj continued his form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Playing against Odisha in a group A match, Ruturaj scored 81 off just 47 balls guiding his team to a total of 183 runs in the assigned 20 overs. In response, Odisha could only score 156 runs and Maharashtra registered a comfortable victory.
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