Ruturaj Gaikwad has become the ninth Indian cricketer to score a T20I century. The 26-year old player’s first such occasion in international cricket came in the third T20I against Australia in Guwahati exactly a year after he had smashed seven sixes in a Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022-23 match against Uttar Pradesh in Ahmedabad.
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Silencing critics of his strike rate in an authoritative manner, Gaikwad scored 123* (57) including 13 fours and seven sixes to put on display the second-highest individual score by an Indian cricketer in this format. Competing for the opener’s spot with Shubman Gill, Gaikwad fell short by three runs to equal his record T20I score for an Indian.
Rutu -Raja #INDvsAUS
— Ashwin (@ashwinravi99) November 28, 2023
Ruturaj Gaikwad Overtakes Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav And Shreyas Iyer In Rare T20I Record
Gaikwad, however, managed to overtake the likes of Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer by scoring the second-highest number of runs in the last three overs of a T20I among his countrymen.
Only behind the legendary Yuvraj Singh in this list, the right-handed batter scored as many as 52 runs between overs 18-20 at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium tonight.
Facing all-rounder Aaron Hardie (1/64) in the 18th over, Gaikwad hit three sixes and a four as India accumulated 25 runs in his final over. Gaikwad’s range saw him hitting sixes down the ground, via a pull and a Yadav-esque sweep.
After punishing Hardie into conceding the worst T20I bowling figures for an Australian cricketer, Gaikwad played a titular role in collecting as many as 30 runs off the last over bowled by Glenn Maxwell (0/30). Bowling for the first time in the match, Maxwell broke a 14-year old record by leaking the most runs in an over among Australians. Apart from hitting the off-spinner for three sixes around the long-on region, Gaikwad also managed to find a couple of fours to power India to 222/3 in 20 overs.
Had Gaikwad got more than a lone ball to play in Nathan Ellis‘ (1/36) penultimate over, he would’ve most likely broken Yuvraj’s record of scoring 54 runs in the last three overs of the iconic India-England ICC World Twenty20 2007 match in Durban.
Readers must note that each one of Kohli (45 runs against Afghanistan), Yadav (41 runs against Hong Kong) and Iyer (40 runs against Sri Lanka) had achieved their respective feats last year.
