Centurions Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli Break Sachin Tendulkar-Dinesh Karthik's 15-Year Old Record vs South Africa
Virat Kohli and Ruturaj Gaikwad were in prime form in the second India vs South Africa ODI
Virat Kohli and Ruturaj Gaikwad were in prime form in the second India vs South Africa ODI. At the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on Wednesday, Gaikwad scored 105 off 83 balls, laced with 12 fours and two sixes, at a strike rate of 126.51. He reached his fifty off 52 balls before accelerating superbly to get his first ODI century in just 77 deliveries. At the other end, Virat Kohli slammed his 53rd ODI ton. The duo added 195 runs for the third wicket, which is now the highest ODI partnership for any wicket for India against South Africa. Previously, Sachin Tendulkar and Dinesh Karthik had added 194 runs for the second wicket in an ODI in Gwalior in 2010. (India vs South Africa 2nd ODI Live Updates)
Right-handed batter Ruturaj Gaikwad credited Virat Kohli for guiding him brilliantly on his way to hitting his maiden ODI century in the second game against South Africa, adding that their 195-run stand was a "wonderful partnership."
"Obviously a dream to bat with him and have a wonderful partnership. He helped me a lot throughout the middle - about how to access gaps, what lengths the bowler might be bowling, and how you can adjust your technique and score runs by playing fewer dot balls. So definitely very helpful and a good learning experience for me."
"We had set small targets and just thought that, you know, every five overs we have to achieve this. Once we felt really comfortable in the middle, there came a phase where the ball wasn't doing much and was coming nicely onto the bat. I just said that I will back my instincts, whatever they are, and let's see how it goes," said Gaikwad to broadcasters in a mid-innings chat.
Asked how he felt about the conditions on the field, Gaikwad said:
"Last game I was really gutted to miss out on a knock. It was a really good wicket and the conditions suited me - could have easily scored a few runs. So really gutted last game, and thankfully it came out really well today."
"Today it was more suitable for me. I went out to bat around the 11th over and told myself to approach it as if I was already 25 or 30 balls in after the powerplay and bat accordingly, look to rotate strike. Until 15-20 overs it was slightly two-paced, but after that it got better and we worked on that."
He signed off by saying they had a target of reaching 350 and felt grateful about it:
"Definitely after a stage we were thinking about something around 350, and thankfully we got that score."
"Definitely a good score, but as we were here yesterday, I think there is a lot of dew. Hopefully there will be less dew tonight, but chasing 350-plus will be really tough."
Virat Kohli
India Cricket Team
South Africa Cricket Team