Heartbreak for Ruturaj Gaikwad, Departs Just Short of a Brilliant Century
Ruturaj Gaikwad playing a beautiful lofted cover drive (Source: AP Photo)
Ruturaj Gaikwad has started IPL 2023 with a bang smashing a brilliant 92 off just 50 balls to put his team in a strong position after CSK lost some of their key overseas players early in the game.
The opener looked in superb touch right from the word go and smashed two boundaries in the second over to take his team off to a flier. He then continued his onslaught on almost every other bowler that came his way and got to his fifty in just 23 balls.
Rutu is known for his classy strokeplay and mixed his class beautifully with power as he hammered 9 sixes into a jam-packed crowd assembled at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The most fascinating part of his knock was that Chennai kept losing at the other end but Gaikwad did not let that affect his rhythm and kept scoring at will from the other end. However, a high full toss from Alzarri Joseph got the better of him in the 18th over as Gaikwad felt short by just 8 runs of what would have been a memorable century.
Ruturaj has been a mainstay for the MSD-led Chennai Super Kings since his debut season in 2020 and was the orange cap holder in 2021 season with 635 runs. He has been in a tremendous form in domestic cricket in recent times across formats and would be looking to make a big impact in the IPL 2023.
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