Watch: Ruturaj Gaikwad smashed a huge six to bring up his maiden IPL century
Ruturaj Gaikwad smashed his first T20 century at Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Stadium against Rajasthan Royals on Saturday, needing only 60 balls to reach the milestone. The 24-year-old also became the first player in the IPL 2021 season to reach 500 runs over the course of the innings.
In the last over of his innings, Gaikwad was left stranded on 95 after hitting nine fours and five sixes. In the last over, Ravindra Jadeja singled after slamming two fours and a six off the first three deliveries, giving Gaikwad the wicket.
In order to give Gaikwad a fighting chance, Mustafizur Rahman bowled a short delivery and left him needing to smash a six off the last ball in order to achieve the milestone. When it came time to bowl his last delivery to his side, however, Smith kept his composure and sent the ball sailing over midwicket to send the crowd wild.
Overall, Ruturaj Gaikwad is the fourth batsman in the current season to get a century, after RR's Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler and RCB's Devdutt Padikkal. This is Gaikwad's first-ever hundred in the format as well. The right-hander is currently the Yellow Army's youngest centurion in terms of age (24 years, 244 days).
Earlier, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis gave the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) another strong start after being chosen to bat first. They stitched together a 47-run partnership off 41 balls. Rajasthan Royals (RR) lost Suresh Raina (3) for a cheap price, but Gaikwad and Moeen Ali teamed together to put the pressure back on the team. It took the pair's right-hand left-hand combo only 6 overs to push their total over 100.
In the end, CSK reached 189/4, the highest total in the 14th season of the IPL at the stadium, thanks to Ravindra Jadeja's quick-fire 32 off 15 deliveries, which left him not out.
Watch the video here:
— Sardar Khan (@SardarK07004661) October 2, 2021