GT vs CSK: Ruturaj Gaikwad finds his mojo with maiden half-century in IPL 2022

Ruturaj Gaikwad got back to form with a magnificent century against the Gujarat Titans on April 17 at the MCA Stadium in Pune.

Ruturaj Gaikwad, on Sunday, April 17, scored his maiden half-century in the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL). The right-hander didn’t make the best of starts to his campaign in the tournament after scoring only 35 runs in his first five outings at a dismal average of seven. Gaikwad’s form affected the Super Kings, who lost their first four matches in the tournament.

But Gaikwad showed what he’s capable of in the match against Hardik Pandya’s Gujarat Titans on Sunday, April 17 at the Maharashtra Cricket Academy (MCA) in Mumbai. Gaikwad was a tad sedate early on in his innings as the Super Kings scored only 39 runs in the powerplay. He tried to get his eyes in before going for the big shots in his knock.

But once he found his rhythm, there was no stopping him. The Maharashtra-born batter got to his half-century off a mere 37 balls. He scored 73 runs off 48 balls with the help of five fours and as many sixes. Gaikwad also had enough time to get to his century, but he failed to rack up the three-figure score. Left-arm pacer Yash Dayal pinned him to cut short his stay in the middle.

Gaikwad tried to smash a ball from Dayal through the on-side, but couldn’t get enough elevation. Abhinav Manohar took a decent catch at deep backward square leg. Gaikwad was also involved in a handy partnership of 92 runs with Ambati Rayudu, who surpassed the 4000-run mark in the IPL.

In the meantime, Twitterati lauded Gaikwad for the masterful knock. The netizens lauded him for returning to form at a time when CSK needed to string together quite a few wins.

It's taken him a while to get going this season but now that he has found form I wouldn't be surprised if a tsunami of runs follows. Form is temporary, class is permanent #GTvCSK #CSK #WhistlePodu #Ruturaj