Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) prolific opener, Ruturaj Gaikwad again came in the limelight after his spectacular century against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on October 2. Despite the knock ending up in the losing cause, Gaikwad was adjudged man of the match for his brilliant 101* off 61 deliveries.
CSKs’ head coach Stephen Fleming was all praises for the opener’s maiden century and said that he will enjoy Gaikwad's knock even though it came in a losing cause.
“It was a magnificent innings. It is not often that you have a centurion in your side and you come away with a loss. We will be a bit flat around that but the team will celebrate an individual performance that was of high class,” Fleming said in the post-match press conference.
“It’s another continuation of the young man’s journey. Our expectations have always been very high. Others are just starting to realize why we have such high regard for him. We are really proud of him and are really pleased with his progress. The way he is playing is outstanding,” he added.
According to the former New Zealand captain, the 24-year-old's inning was “high-class” and he has enormous talent. The 48-year-old believes that the world has just recently begun to recognize the youngster’s caliber.
The rise of Ruturaj
In this year’s IPL edition, the Pune-born cricketer has scored 508 runs with a strike rate of 134. 08 in 12 matches so far. Moreover, the leading run-scorer of the season is averaging over 50 and has a century and three half-centuries to his name.
In the previous season, we saw glimpses of Gaikwad's talent where he had scored 204 runs in just six innings with an impressive average of 51. As a result of his performances in the fag end of the 2020 season, the opener was rewarded the opening spot right from the start this season.
