Ruturaj Gaikwad had a blazing run in the Vijay Hazare Trophy but his side Maharashtra was ultimately unlucky to bow out of the 50-over tournament.
Maharashtra won four out of five group league matches but finished third in the Elite Group D points table by virtue of a poor run rate. Ruturaj Gaikwad cited it as ‘harsh’ from his side’s perspective to not qualify for the knockouts.
Ruturaj Gaikwad Felt It Was Harsh On Maharashtra After The Team Couldn’t Qualify For Knockouts For Inferior Run Rate
Ruturaj Gaikwad performed exceedingly well in the 2021 IPL, with he being the recipient of the Orange Cap. He has carried their form into the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy and is making a strong case for his selection. Ruturaj Gaikwad was the orange cap winner in IPL 2021 by leading the run-scorer with 635 runs in 16 matches with a ton.
Ruturaj Gaikwad said: “I think it (not qualifying) was harsh on us. We won four out of five games. In some other groups, teams who have lost two games out of five (Himachal, Vidarbha, TN, Karnataka) have also made it to the next stage.”
Ruturaj Gaikwad, who led the team from the front, admitted they took the net run rate into consideration but their opponents played some good cricket to take the game deep.
“These things happen in cricket. The Kerala seventh wicket pair batted too well. We have to give credit to the opposition too. We tried our best to break the partnership. We were aware about the possibility of net run rate coming into the equation.
“Hence we chose to field first against Uttarakhand. But sadly, it was difficult to score runs quickly on that pitch. The wicket changed its behaviour a bit in the second half too. Sometimes you need a little bit of luck too which proved elusive for us.”
Ruturaj Gaikwad on the other hand had scored 3 consecutive tons- 136, an unbeaten 154, and 124 to emerge as the leading run-scorer in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. Chasing a tall 310 in a do-or-die Group D clash, the Maharashtra skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad led from the front with a blistering 168 from 132 balls.
The win however was not enough for Maharashtra, who were unlucky to be eliminated finishing third on net-run rate (+0.104) after they ended with 16 points with Kerala (+0.974) and Madhya Pradesh (+0.485).
Ruturaj Gaikwad earlier had scored a hattrick of centuries – 136, 154*, 124 – in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy to conclude the season with 603 runs with an average of 150.75. He also joined the likes of Virat Kohli, Prithvi Shaw, and Devdutt Padikkal to hit four centuries in one Vijay Hazare Trophy season.
Ruturaj Gaikwad Focusing On His Process And Trying To Replicate Performances
Kerala and Madhya Pradesh finished with the same points as Maharashtra (15) but qualified by virtue of a good net run rate. The 24-year-old batsman has been in red hot form since the second phase of IPL 2021 when he guided Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to their fourth title.
When asked about the secret of his consistency, Ruturaj said: “No secret. I’m just focusing on my process and not thinking much, just trying to replicate the things again and again!”
Ruturaj Gaikwad continued his good run in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he amassed 603 runs in five innings, including four centuries. The youngster is happy with the rich vein of form he has found and desires to continue in the same manner for the rest of the season.
“It feels amazing. But it would have been nice if we as a team, we would’ve gone through. Personally, it’s a good achievement and I’m proud of myself and my team,” Ruturaj concluded.
Ruturaj Gaikwad’s dream run with the bat has compelled the selectors to take notice. He will be one of the front-runners to be on the plane to South Africa when the selection panel meets to pick the ODI squad for the South Africa series comprising of 3 ODIs following 3 Tests.
Ruturaj Gaikwad has so far played 2 T20Is scoring 35 runs all coming in the 2021 Sri Lanka tour where India picked a second-string team in absence of senior Test specialists who were in England for the Test series against the hosts.
Chennai Super Kings decided to retain all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja(16 cr) and Moeen Ali ( 8 cr) along with captain MS Dhoni (12 cr) and opening batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad(6 cr) ahead of the mega-auctions for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.