Ruturaj Gaikwad scored his fourth consecutive fifty in the UAE in IPL, having scored three earlier in the last league games of the 2020 edition for Chennai Super Kings.
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Ruturaj Gaikwad has been the ultimate star for Chennai Super Kings at the top of the order. However, he is soon donning the mantle of becoming the ultimate match-winner for Chennai Super Kings. The right-hander has hit six fifties in his IPL career and on all the occasions, MS Dhoni’s team has never lost a match. During the match against Mumbai Indians, Ruturaj Gaikwad scored his sixth fifty and helped Chennai Super Kings win by 20 runs.
Gaikwad’s sixth fifty was his fourth consecutive fifty in the UAE. In IPL 2020, Gaikwad had a bad start to the tournament. He tested positive for the coronavirus at the start along with Deepak Chahar. After he came back into the side, Gaikwad fell for 0 but Dhoni and the team management did not lose faith. In Chennai Super Kings’ disappointing campaign in IPL 2020, Gaikwad was the lone bright spot as Dhoni’s team finished seventh.
But, it is now clear. Whenever Gaikwad scores substantially, Chennai Super Kings win in a big way. Here is a look at his list of fifties in the UAE.
Chennai Super Kings were already out of the reckoning for the playoffs in IPL 2020. Now, they wanted to spoil the party for the rest of the teams. Their encounter against Royal Challengers Bangalore provided the first instance of the talent of Ruturaj Gaikwad. In a splendid display of bowling by Deepak Chahar, Sam Curran, and Monu Kumar, Chennai Super Kings restricted Royal Challengers Bangalore to 145/6.
In stepped Gaikwad and he went on to tear the RCB bowling apart. He got going with a six off Washington Sundar while Faf du Plessis was playing aggressively. Du Plessis hit a six and four off Chris Morris. Gaikwad was dropped on 17 and he made RCB pay. He employed the sweep well, hitting a four off Moeen Ali and a big six off Yuzvendra Chahal.
Ambati Rayudu struck some big blows and Gaikwad went past his fifty off 42 balls. With Dhoni at the other end, Gaikwad sealed the game in style with a four and six off Morris.
After spoiling Royal Challengers Bangalore’s momentum, it was time for Chennai Super Kings to dash Kolkata Knight Riders’ chances. Nitish Rana gave them an excellent platform as he blasted 87. Aided by small contributions from other players, Kolkata Knight Riders reached 172/5. But, Gaikwad was in his zone right from the very beginning.
He played the sheet anchor role to perfection and shared a partnership of 68 with Ambati Rayudu. Gaikwad got going with a couple of fours off Lockie Ferguson and hit Varun Chakravarthy for a big six. He and Rayudu kept Chennai Super Kings in the hunt. Gaikwad notched up his fifty and he grew in confidence. One shot stood out as he swept pacer Ferguson for his second six. But, just when he looked like taking Chennai Super Kings over the line, he fell for 72.
But, Ravindra Jadeja had other plans. He hit a four and six off Pat Cummins to reduce the deficit to seven runs off two balls. The left-hander hit two big sixes and sealed the game in thrilling fashion. For all of Jadeja’s exploits, it was Gaikwad who laid the base for Chennai Super Kings.
Heading into the last league game, Kings XI Punjab had a chance to seal the playoff spot. But, Chennai Super Kings once again threw a spanner into their works. Deepak Hooda blasted 62 off 30 balls. This included three fours and four sixes as Kings XI Punjab recovered from a poor position at 113/6 in the 17th over. With 40 runs coming in the last three overs, Kings XI Punjab reached 153/6.
But, once again, it was the youngster who showed his mettle. The right-hander hit a six off Chris Jordan to give the chase a boost. Faf du Plessis was in fine form as he benefited from a dropped catch. Both players built a solid platform, with Gaikwad benefiting from an umpire misjudgment as his catch was ruled to have not been taken cleanly.
The 82-run stand ended when du Plessis fell for 48. Rayudu and Gaikwad steadied the ship, with Gaikwad scoring his third fifty with two boundaries off Ravi Bishnoi. Fittingly, it was Gaikwad who sealed the deal for Chennai Super Kings as they finished in seventh spot, narrowly avoiding the wooden spoon.
The IPL 2021 resumed back in the UAE after the coronavirus pandemic delayed the first half of the tournament in India. Chennai Super Kings were locking horns with Mumbai Indians, who became the five-time champions by winning in 2020. But, from the start, it was Mumbai Indians who dominated.
They dismissed Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, and MS Dhoni cheaply. Ambati Rayudu was injured but Gaikwad was unnerved. Showing tremendous application and resolve, Gaikwad stitched a solid stand with Jadeja. After getting dropped by Quinton de Kock on 19, Gaikwad tore into the Mumbai Indians bowling.
He hit a six and a four off Krunal Pandya while he launched Rahul Chahar for another boundary. When Kieron Pollard came into the attack, he hit two fours to bring up his fourth consecutive fifty in the IPL. Gaikwad hammered a six off a wide ball from Bumrah but the shot of the day was off the last ball.
Bumrah’s slower ball was hit with great power to deep extra cover. On the final ball, Bumrah bowled a low full toss and Gaikwad swept the best bowler in the world for a six. Chennai Super Kings staged a recovery as Mumbai Indians lost the match by 20 runs.
In addition to his four knocks in the UAE, in IPL 2021, Gaikwad has actually scored his third fifty. During the 15th match of the tournament against Kolkata Knight Riders, Gaikwad hit 64 against Kolkata Knight Riders. In that high-scoring game at the Wankhede, Gaikwad shared a partnership of 115 with du Plessis. The South African scored 95 and was unlucky to miss out on a century.
Gaikwad and du Plessis’ efforts helped Chennai Super Kings reach 220/3. Despite a massive effort from Pat Cummins who hit 66 off 34 balls, Chennai Super Kings won by 18 runs. However, Gaikwad ensured yet another fifty saw him win another game for CSK.
In the 23rd game against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Delhi, David Warner and Manish Pandey hit fifties to boost Sunrisers to 171/3. But, Chennai Super Kings got a big boost with Gaikwad hitting 75 and du Plessis hitting another fifty. The duo stitched a 129-run stand for the opening wicket. Chennai Super Kings won by seven wickets and continued their marvelous run in IPL 2021.
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