Ruturaj Gaikwad Justifies Hype Around Him With Stellar Domestic Run

Maharashtra skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad has been in subline form in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. The opener had scored 603 runs in just five games, including four centuries in the tournament. He is the fourth player after Virat Kohli, Prithvi Shaw and Devdutt Padikkal to smash four centuries in a single Vijay Hazare season. Despite Gaikwad's top-class batting, Maharashtra failed to qualify for the pre-quarterfinals. Maharashtra finished third in the Elite Group D points table and were tied with Kerala and Madhya Pradesh on 16 points. Kerala and Madhya Pradesh reached the knockout round as they had a better net run rate than Maharashtra. 

Speaking on his team's exit, Gaikwad highlighted the fact that Maharashtra won four out of five games but still failed to make it to the final 16.

"I think it (not qualifying) was harsh on us. We won four out of five games. In some other groups, teams who have lost two games out of five (Himachal, Vidarbha, TN, Karnataka) have also made it to the next stage," Gaikwad told The Times Of India.

Speaking of his four centuries in the tournament, Gaikwad said, "It feels amazing. But it would have been nice if we as a team, we would've gone through. Personally, it's a good achievement and I'm proud of myself and my team."

Playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2021, Gaikwad had won the orange cap for being the leading run-scorer in the tournament. The young opener had scored 635 runs in 16 matches in IPL 2021.

When asked about the secret of his recent success as a batter, the 24-year-old said, "No secret. I'm just focusing on my process and not thinking much, just trying to replicate the things again and again!"

Gaikwad was also retained by CSK ahead of the IPL mega auction, being the team's fourth retention after Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni and Moeen Ali.

Under the captaincy of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Maharashtra won four of their five matches in the ongoing Vijay Hazare and as many in last month's Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy.

Gaikwad made his international debut for India during the T20I series in Sri Lanka in July and was also part of the Indian squad for the New Zealand T20Is but didn't get an opportunity to play.

Topics mentioned in this article

MAH Chennai Super Kings Ruturaj Gaikwad Virat Kohli Cricket