Vijay Hazare Trophy: Carnage, this has been pure carnage from Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Ruturaj Gaikwad in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. In the 2nd quarter-final of this 'List A' tournament, Maharashtra are taking on Uttar Pradesh, but it has been Gaikwad and his stellar batting that will grab the headlines. Courtesy of Ruturaj's power-hitting, Maharashtra registered a total of 330 runs in their quota of 50 overs. Gaikwad carried his bat and remained unbeaten on 220 off 159 odd deliveries.
The match is being played at Narendra Modi Stadium B Ground, Ahmedabad. In this crucial contest, Gaikwad scored at a strike rate of 138.4 and hit 10 fours and 16 sixes. In the ongoing match, Ruturaj scripted history as he hit 7 sixes to Shiva Singh. The pacer from Uttar Pradesh bowled a no ball as his fifth delivery and hence, this enabled Gaikwad to go all guns blazing and hit seven sixes in an over. Gaikwad's knock comes at a very crucial time as team India have set their sights on the ICC ODI World Cup that will be played in India next year. Ahead of the mini auctions, Chennai Super Kings have retained Gaikwad for an amount of INR 6 crores.
Not only did Gaikwad hit 7 sixes in the 49th over, but he continued his onslaught even in the 50th over. Gaikwad hit UP's Kartik Tyagi for two sixes. The Chennai Super Kings superstar made his ODI debut for India in October 2022 and has played just one match. As of now, the opening slot of the Indian team is heavily crowded with the likes of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, and Shubman Gill. Considering the current scenario, it looks very unlikely that Gaikwad will be picked up to open the batting for India but if he can manage to consistently perform, one never knows when the doors open for them.
