Ruturaj Gaikwad continued on his brilliant form in the 2021 Indian Premier League, slamming a half-century during the Qualifier 1 game against Delhi Capitals. En-route the innings, Gaikwad jumped to the second position in the list of highest run-scorers of the season.
The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opener forged a 110-run partnership alongside Robin Uthappa, who rolled back the years with a brilliant 63 off 44 balls.
This was Gaikwad's 7th half-century in the season so far. The batter also crossed the 600-run mark for the season.
Gaikwad, alongside Uthappa, helped stabilize the CSK innings after the early blow of Faf du Plessis, who was dismissed on 1 in the first over.
Undeterred by the setback, Gaikwad remained composed throughout his innings, which has become a hallmark of his batting performances in the 2021 edition so far.
He played the anchor role as Uthappa adopted an aggressive approach in the century partnership for the second wicket.
Following Uthappa's dismissal, Gaikwad held one end as the Super Kings faced a middle-order collapse, with Shardul Thakur (0) and Ambati Rayudu (1) dismissed cheaply.
Despite the stutter in the innings, Gaikwad continued to rotate the strike with similar consistency and attacked Anrich Nortje in the 17th over of the innings, slamming him for two boundaries and 11 runs overall.
He was eventually dismissed by Avesh Khan on 70 off 50 deliveries.
