Ruturaj Gaikwad proved in Raipur that his game is perfect for ODIs

Ruturaj Gaikwad’s Raipur knock showed why his skillset suits ODIs perfectly — timing, rotation of strike, and calm under pressure.

When Ruturaj Gaikwad was picked in Team India’s 15-member squad for the three-match ODI series against South Africa, he was supposed to warm the benches. Many reckoned that Tilak Varma should have played at number four spot in the opening clash in Ranchi. But Gaikwad’s form was hard to ignore.

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain notched up a fine knock of 117 runs in the opening unofficial ODI for India A against South Africa A a few days back . He followed it up with another fine unbeaten half-century three days later. Gaikwad has scored 4647 runs at an average of 57.37 in List A cricket. The sheer wait of this record brought him as a natural replacement for the injured Shreyas Iyer in the ODI series against South Africa.

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Ruturaj Gaikwad sets perfect tempo en route glorious century in Raipur
Ruturaj Gaikwad had a silent day in the opening ODI in Ranchi. Dewald Brevis’s incredible catch brought his downfall early in the knock. In Raipur, India lost both openers inside the first 10 overs. It was not a flat surface where the batters won’t need time to adjust to the pace and bounce.

Gaikwad got into a tangle when Marco Jansen’s short ball hit his glove and flew over the wicketkeeper for a boundary. His first confident shot came against the left-arm spin of Keshav Maharaj. He played the vertical-batted sweep to the man at 45 for a boundary. When Jansen bowled another bouncer, Gaikwad hurriedly pulled it over the deep square leg region for a massive six.

Playing the field is always key to counter the spinners in the middle overs of an ODI fixture. When Maharaj went short to Gaikwad, the Maharashtra batter made room and cracked it in front of square for a boundary. He was 51 not out at the halfway mark.

Batting with Virat Kohli in the 50-over format means the requirement of quick singles. And Gaikwad was aware of it along with the doubles throughout the innings. They put up a partnership of 195 runs for the third wicket. It was India’s highest third-wicket ODI stand against the Proteas.

“Well, obviously a dream to bat with him and, you know, have a wonderful partnership. He helped me a lot throughout (our time in) the middle about how to access gaps, what lengths the bowler might be bowling, and how you can adjust your technique and score some runs by taking fewer dot balls. So definitely very helpful and good learning for me,” Gaikwad told the broadcaster during the innings break.

Just after reaching his half-century, Gaikwad swept Maharaj towards deep backward square leg. That shot prompted South Africa captain Temba Bavuma to bring the mid-on fielder inside the circle, and push the square leg back to the boundary. Two balls later, Gaikwad used his feet and lofted the pitched up delivery over long on for a massive six. With a boundary over wide of mid on, he celebrated his maiden ODI century in eight attempts.

Gaikwad went from fifty to hundred in 25 balls. The crowd went up with a roar as Kohli stood back to let his junior enjoy the moment. He ended up with 105 runs in 83 balls at a strike rate of 126.51, thanks to 12 boundaries and a couple of sixes.

“In the one-day format, even when I was opening the innings, I always tried to make sure that whenever I was set, I was able to bat till the 45th over and capitalise after that. So, I knew somewhat how to play between overs 11 to 40, how to rotate strike, and what the boundary options were. So, I was pretty much confident about how I could go through,” Gaikwad said in the post-match press conference.

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India find suitable number four in Shreyas Iyer’s absence in ODIs
Since the beginning of 2024, India’s management has used five players at number four in ODIs. Shreyas Iyer played most of those games. In 10 innings, the Mumbai-born collected 496 runs at an average of 49.60 with five half-centuries. Gaikwad’s century in Raipur was the first hundred at number four for India since Shreyas Iyer scored 105 against New Zealand in CWC 2023 semi final in November of that year.

Gaikwad’s tempo in the Raipur century was excellent. Before this series, he last played an ODI for India in 2023. Since then, he has fallen behind the pecking order as opener, with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill being India’s first choice. Yashasvi Jaiswal joined the mix later on.

“I think all these things are better if you don’t think too much (about them). Because (if you do so), you are not in the present, and whatever matches are in front of you, you don’t have that much focus and preparation for them,” the 28-year-old mentioned in the press conference,

Iyer is likely to get his spot back once he recovers from injury. But in just one innings, Gaikwad has played one of the greatest ODI knocks at number four. Unfortunately for him, this one suffered the same fate as his other international century, as India lost both the games. However, he hopes to change the result with the same individual success in the upcoming third ODI on December 6 at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam.

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