CSK vs RR | Twitter reacts as Ruturaj Gaikwad brings up first IPL hundred with a six off final delivery
Ruturaj Gaikwad came down all guns blazing against Rajasthan Royals to bring up his first T20 hundred off just 60 balls at Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Saturday. During the course of the innings, the 24-year-old also became the first player of the IPL 2021 season to cross the 500-run mark.
Gaikwad, whose innings was studded with 9 fours and 5 sixes, was stranded on 95 with an over left in the innings. After smashing two fours and a six off the first three balls, Ravindra Jadeja ran a single on the fourth delivery of the final over to give Gaikwad the strike. Mustafizur Rahman brought in all his experience and bowled a short delivery to leave Gaikwad with a daunting task of hitting a six off the final delivery to reach the milestone. But the opener maintained his cool and sent the final delivery flying over the mid-wicket boundary to send his teammates and fans into a frenzy.
Overall, Ruturaj Gaikwad is the fourth batsman after RR's Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler, and RCB's Devdutt Padikkal to hit a hundred in the ongoing season. The hundred is also Gaikwad's first-ever in the format. The right-hander is now the youngest (24 years 244 days) cenurion from the Yellow Army.
Earlier, after being asked to bat first, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis gave another good start to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), stitching a 47-run partnership off 41 balls. Suresh Raina (3) departed cheaply but Gaikwad joined forces with Moeen Ali to turn the heat on Rajasthan Royals (RR) all over again. The right-hand left-hand combination of the duo partnered for 57 runs in just 6 overs to take their team's total past 100.
Later, Ravindra Jadeja scored a quick-fire 15-ball 32 not out as CSK, who have already qualified for the playoffs, finished at 189/4 - the highest total at the venue in the 14th edition of IPL.
Absolute blockbuster from Ruturaj Gaikwad! Hugeeeeee!!!
— Sardar Khan (@SardarK07004661) October 2, 2021
Huge respect!🔥💛
— Sardar Khan (@SardarK07004661) October 2, 2021
Man with future!
Terrific show by #RuturajGaikwad #RavindraJadeja 😍
— CS Kishan 🇮🇳 (@cskishan09) October 2, 2021
Indeed a bad day for bowlers. #CSKvsRR
He's beauty!
Blockbuster match what a beauty #RuturajGaikwad 🔥💛 six of that last ball 😍😍 pic.twitter.com/8Rq7Iw4NEG
— Dhanus kumar (@editor_dhanus) October 2, 2021
Top class 💯
— Srinivas MB fan 🔔 (@Reddy_414) October 2, 2021
Super star in making #RuturajGaikwad
Hahahaha!
Sir #jadeja main century nahi banane dunga tujhe. #RuturajGaikwad be like ek ball to khelne de bhai 😂 @imjadeja @Ruutu1331
— Dev Kumar 德伟 (@be_devkumar) October 2, 2021
BCCI has to look into this! :D
Man i want Ruturaj Gaikwad in T 20 world cup squad in place of nohit sharma😭😭😭😭😭😭#RRvCSK pic.twitter.com/j5zotz1v1x
— Facts Wing🥶 (@ein_scofield) October 2, 2021
What an innings he's having! WOW!
Ruturaj Gaikwad now Orange Cap Holder in this #IPL2021 .
— CricketMAN2 (@man4_cricket) October 2, 2021
Mr.Consistency
#RuturajGaikwad@IPL #csk
— chandu (@cmouli2502) October 2, 2021
Very discipline batting , very much committed towards making runs compare to senior batsman..
Gaikwad is playing IPL next level.
Meet new orange cap holder Ruturaj Gaikwad 💛 pic.twitter.com/i5p9OctFkk
— DIPTI MSDIAN (@Diptiranjan_7) October 2, 2021
That's Ruturaj Gaikwad for you!
Ruturaj Gaikwad's Last 8 Innings in IPL in UAE:-
— Mehul™ 🦁 (@CricMehul) October 2, 2021
65*(51).
72(53).
62*(49).
88*(58).
38(26).
40(28).
45(38).
85(54)
All 30+ scores, Five 50+ scores in 8 Innings. #CSKvRR
He deserves it!
Ruturaj Gaikwad becomes the leading run scorer of this IPL 2021 season. 🦁💛#WhistlePodu #IPL2021 @MSDhoni
— DHONI Trends™ 🦁 (@TrendsDhoni) October 2, 2021
That's for sure!
Ruturaj gaikwad definitely win the emerging player of the season award for sure🔥#CSKvsRR pic.twitter.com/HH8a4Qkqxq
— DURGENDRA RATHORE (@Baeblu41) October 2, 2021
Well! Big question..
Can Ruturaj Gaikwad play at no.4 for India?? @BCCI
— Jainam Gadiya (@JainamGadiya) October 2, 2021
Accurate!
His Name Is Mister "Consistency"
— MASTER BARATH😎 (@barathraina56) October 2, 2021
Salute Man @Ruutu1331 🙏💛#Ruturaj #Csk #WhistlePodu pic.twitter.com/3kkRbWZQze
Such a class innings
How good @Ruutu1331 is pacing his innings in the second half!
— Vijith Bhargav (@vijithbhargav) October 2, 2021
And it’s not the first time 👏 . #IPL2021 #WhistlePodu #ruturaj