Maharashtra skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad is in sub-line form in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. The opener had scored 603 runs in just five games, including four centuries in the tournament. He is the fourth player after Virat Kohli, Prithvi Shaw and Devdutt Padikkal to beat four centuries in a single Vijay Hazare season. Despite Gaikwad’s first-class at bat, Maharashtra failed to qualify for the pre-quarter finals. Maharashtra finished third in the Elite Group D points table and was tied 16 points with Kerala and Madhya Pradesh. Kerala and Madhya Pradesh reached the knockout round as they had a better net run rate than Maharashtra.
Speaking about his team’s departure, Gaikwad highlighted the fact that Maharashtra won four out of five matches but still failed to reach the last 16.
“I think it (not qualifying) was hard for us. We won four out of five matches. In some other groups, teams that lost two out of five matches (Himachal, Vidarbha, TN, Karnataka) also have the next stage ,” Gaikwad told The Times Of India.
Speaking of his four centuries in the tournament, Gaikwad said: “It feels great. But it would have been nice if we continued as a team. Personally, it’s a good performance and I’m proud of myself and my team.”
Gaikwad played for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2021 and had won the orange cap for being the leading points scorer in the tournament. The young opener had scored 635 runs in 16 games in IPL 2021.
When asked about the secret to his recent batting success, the 24-year-old said, “No secret. I just focus on my process and don’t think much, I try to repeat things over and over!”
Gaikwad was also retained by CSK ahead of the IPL mega auction, the team’s fourth retention after Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni and Moeen Ali.
promoted
Under the captaincy of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Maharashtra won four of their five matches in the ongoing Vijay Hazare and the same number in last month’s Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy.
Gaikwad made his international debut for India during the T20I series in Sri Lanka in July and was also part of the Indian squad for New Zealand’s T20Is, but was unable to play.
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