Ruturaj Gaikwad celebrating his maiden T20I ton (x.com)
Ruturaj Gaikwad crafted his magnum opus T20I score through the course of his batting masterclass against Australia in Guwahati. Opening the innings alongside Yashasvi Jasiwal, the dashing right-hander led India’s recovery with belligerent ball-striking throughout their 20 overs.
Gaikwad punched out 123* unbeaten runs from just 57 balls, and glittered his epic knock with 13 boundaries and seven sixes, including three from a single Aaron Hardie over. Reeling at 24-2 at one stage within the powerplay, his innings shot up the Indian total towards a colossal 222-3 by the end of their innings.
Remarkably, the 26-year-old guided Team India to a huge T20I milestone, surpassing the previous record held by Australia against their antipodean rivals New Zealand.
Ruturaj Gaikwad guides India to a huge record
Team India went up against Australia for the first time back during their 2007 T20 World Cup semifinal tussle in Durban. Since their initial meeting in the format, the ‘Men in Blue’ have amassed 200-plus totals six times in their head-to-head battles, marking a new world record for any team against any T20I opponent.
Notably, three of those 200-plus totals have come in succession in the ongoing series itself, with India charting up 209 in the first game and 235 in the second in Thiruvananthapuram.
Australia held the previous record for tallying T20I scores of 200 or more five times against New Zealand. England and South Africa also registered five 200-plus totals against each other, thus marking one of the highest-scoring T20I rivalries in format’s rich history.
Even though Ruturaj Gaikwad’s Guwahati epic ignited India’s run-fest at the venue, Suryakumar Yadav and his troops fell short of a rampaging Glenn Maxwell off the last ball of the match.
The two sides will now collide in the fourth match of their five-game series on December 1 in Raipur.
 "Aakash Saini")
