With the Chepauk Stadium proudly wrapped in the yellow (read: yellove) of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) once again, this time with the shadow of MS Dhoni’s impending retirement looming overhead, it was the talented Ruturaj Gaikwad who stole the show on Monday during the team’s first home game in four years, 1462 days to be exact.
Gaikwad makes batting look ridiculously easy. His knock of 57 off 31 balls, complete with three fours and four sixes, was an exhibition of elegant batsmanship, filled with classy cover drives, the statement-making square drive, and the rare but intimidating pull shot off the odd short ball.
England and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) pacer Mark Wood will remember him for years to come, especially after the audacious flick in the sixth over to send a length ball flying over backward square leg. One of the other maximums crashed into the sponsor car (a Tata Tiago) near the fence, making a dent in the passenger door.
Southpaw Devon Conway also enjoyed Gaikwad’s presence at the crease. The duo registered their third century partnership in only nine IPL innings. “I am just happy to build partnerships with Rutu(raj), and the way he plays, he makes my job easier,” Conway had said of his opening partner back in 2022. The pair holds the record for forging CSK’s highest-ever partnership in the IPL — 182 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad last season.
Consistent performer
In CSK’s campaign opener against Gujarat Titans this season, he slammed a fearless 92 off 50 balls, picking up right where he left off in the previous edition. He followed it up with the 57 against LSG. For Gaikwad, this isn’t the first rodeo. He has been doing it time and time again for a while now. For two seasons in a row, he has been CSK’s top batter — 635 runs in 2021 and 368 in 2022, topped with an unbeaten 101 against Rajasthan Royals.
Even for his state side, Maharashtra, he has played hero on multiple occasions. The 2022 Vijay Hazare quarterfinal against Uttar Pradesh instantly comes to mind, where he scored an unbeaten 220 to lead his side to a 58-run victory. It’s fair to say that no matter what the conditions, Gaikwad has been relentless.
Hence, it won’t be an exaggeration to think that he isn’t far off from reclaiming his place in the national side. It was only in India colours that the occasions got too big for him. In nine T20Is and one ODI (2021-22), he has a total of just 154 runs, with averages that don’t do justice to his talent at all — 16.87 in T20Is and 19.00 in ODIs.
Weak link
The leg break has always been Gaikwad’s archnemesis. He averages a mere 33.42 against leg-spin, while against off-spin his numbers climb to 122.00. Even his strike-rate takes a beating against the odd leg-spinner – 130.00 vs leg-spin compared to 146.98 against off-spin. And against LSG, yet another leg-spinner claimed his scalp.
Ravi Bishnoi’s very first delivery – looped up and in Gaikwad’s arc — saw the batter miscue to Wood at short third. As he ambled along to the dressing room, visibly dejected, Dhoni comforted him with a pat on the back.
“Ruturaj is brilliant. He times the ball well. The way he picks his options is pleasing to watch,” Dhoni had said after the Gujarat game, showering praise of the highest order on his understudy. The future does look bright for CSK, and Ruturaj is right up there among the top contenders to take over the mantle for the team.
Home run
The game against LSG also marked the first time the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium witnessed Ruturaj in yellow! His performance delighted everybody in the stadium, including a police official who screamed his lungs out, jumping with joy, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings and duties.
Gaikwad, too, was excited about his performance in front of the Whistle Podu army. At the pre-match conference, he had said, “I was quite excited when it was announced that it would be a home-away format and we would play at the renovated Chepauk stadium. Hopefully, we will have a full house.”
They sure did!
Comments
SHARE