Making his comeback to the ODI team after two years, Ruturaj Gaikwad did not get his preferred spot as opener. With Yashasvi Jaiswal replacing injured skipper Shubman Gill, Gaikwad filled in at no.4 for an injured Shreyas Iyer. In the first innings, he fell victim to a sensational Dewald Brevis catch. In the second ODI, he made it count with his maiden ODI ton. As the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain scored his century, he lauded the team management for putting their faith in him for no.4 position, especially with Tilak Varma in the squad.
“I feel it is a privilege to have that kind of confidence from the (team) management towards an opener who can bat at No. 4 as well,” Gaikwad said at the post-match press conference in Raipur.
Gaikwad did not feel the need to make too many changes in his approach at no.4. He was confident of getting a good score after playing himself in.
“Even when I’m opening, I try to bat till the 40th over and take it from there. So I think somewhat I knew how to play between 11 and 40 overs, how to rotate the strike, what the boundary options were. So I was pretty much confident about how I can go through. It was just a matter of how I can play my first 10-15 balls and after that the process remains the same,” the 28-year-old said.
Gaikwad reached his maiden ODI century off just 77 balls. He hit two sixes and 12 fours in his 83-ball 105. He is only the second India no.4 batter after Shreyas Iyer to score an ODI century against South Africa. He shared a 195-run partnership for the third wicket with Virat Kohli who notched up his 53rd ODI century.
Gaikwad’s astonishing List A numbers
This was Gaikwad's 18th century in List A cricket. From 88 List A innings, he averages 57.37 with 4,647 runs to his name. His century in eighth ODI appearance has given selectors a headache ahead of the ODI series against New Zealand next year with Iyer expected to return.
Will Gaikwad shine in ODI series decider?
The Maharashtra batter will have another chance to score big. India will face South Africa in ODI series decider at ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam on December 6.