GT VS CSK: MS Dhoni in Awe of Ruturaj Gaikwad’s Batting

GT VS CSK: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni showered rich praise on opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, saying he is a pleasure to watch. Dhoni’s remark came after Ruturaj smashed a brilliant 50-ball 92 against Gujarat Titans (GT) in the first match of the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League- IPL 2023.

Gaikwad was aggressive and smashed a whopping nine sixes. He also hit four fours, bringing up his fifty off just 23 balls (his fastest IPL half-century). The best thing about his innings was the way he timed the ball. The CSK opener was off the blocks right from the get-go, timing the ball beautifully throughout his innings. He scored more than fifty percent of CSK’s total of 178/7 at the end of their 20 overs. This was Gaikwad’s third consecutive half-century against the defending Champions in three innings. Unfortunately, on all occasions, CSK lost the game to GT.

With this sensational knock, Gaikwad surpassed the great Sachin Tendulkar. He now has 1299 IPL runs after 37 innings, which is 28 more than Sachin Tendulkar, who had 1271 runs after his first 37 innings. Gaikwad is the fourth-highest run-scorer in IPL after his first 37 innings. Ex-Punjab Kings batter Shaun Marsh at 1523 is leading the charts of most runs after 37 IPL innings, followed by Chris Gayle (1504), and Michael Hussey (1408). Ruturaj Gaikwad (1299), Sachin Tendulkar (1271), and Jonny Bairstow (1240) are next on the list.

GT VS CSK: Ruturaj Impresses Dhoni

Gaikwad top scored in the game, however, his effort went in vain as CSK couldn’t win the game. Speaking on the performance of his star opener, losing skipper Dhoni was asked to comment on Ruturaj’s sparkling innings. Dhoni responded by saying that Ruturaj has groomed himself well and makes the right decisions under pressure while batting.

“Rutu (Ruturaj Gaikwad) is a pleasure to watch, he times the ball very well. He has groomed himself very well, and makes the right decisions under pressure. It’s important that the youngsters step in,” said MS Dhoni in the post-match presentation.

Meanwhile, Dhoni rolled back the clock by smashing a quickfire 7-ball 14* which helped his side cross the 175-run mark. Notably, the veteran batter also slammed his 200th six for CSK in the last over of the first innings. The wicket-keeper batter is now the fifth player to slam 200 sixes for a single IPL team.