Ruturaj Gaikwad, on Tuesday (November 28), scored his maiden T20I century to help India recover from a poor start and post a big total against Australia in the third game of the ongoing five-match series. His effort, however, eventually went in vain as Australia clinched a thrilling five-wicket win at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.
After being asked to bat first, India started poorly with the bat and lost the wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ishan Kishan inside three overs. With the team in precarious situation, Ruturaj Gaikwad played cautiously before shifting gears in the second half of the innings.
He scored 22 runs in the first 22 balls he faced before smashing 101 runs off the next 35 balls. Thanks to his knock, India recovered from 81 for 3 to post 222 for 3 in the allotted 20 overs. Ruturaj Gaikwad smashed 123 runs off just 57 balls. His innings was studded with 13 fours and 7 sixes.
The right-handed batsman also shared an unbeaten stand of 141 runs with Tilak Varma who played the role of the second fiddle to perfection and remained unbeaten on 31. Ruturaj Gaikwad’s century, however, was not enough for Team India to clinch a win as a whirlwind ton from Glenn Maxwell saw Australia clinch a thriller. The Australia allrounder smashed an unbeaten 104 runs off just 48 balls to clinch a much-needed win for his side. Maxwell hit 8 fours and as many sixes during his knock.
Highest individual scores for India in T20Is:
Ruturaj Gaikwad now has second highest individual score for Team India in T20Is. The record is currently held by Shubman Gill for his 126-run knock against New Zealand earlier this year. He went past the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to take the second spot in the elite list.
Highest individual scores for India in T20Is
126* – Shubman Gill vs New Zealand, Ahmedabad, 2023
123* – Ruturaj Gaikwad vs Australia, Guwahati, 2023
122* – Virat Kohli vs Afghanistan, Dubai, 2021
118 – Rohit Sharma vs Sri Lanka, Indore, 2023
117 – Suryakumar Yadav vs England, Nottingham, 2022
