Ruturaj Gaikwad on Sunday fell one run short of scoring his second IPL ton. The Chennai Super Kings opener was dismissed on 99 off 57 balls against the Sunrisers Hyderabad as MS Dhoni and co managed to post 202 runs in the first innings at the MCA Stadium, Pune. 

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Playing on his home ground – Pune – on Maharashtra Day, Gaikwad smashed the Hyderabad bowlers all around the park. He and fellow opener Devon Conway stitched an 182-run opening stand, the highest for CSK. The Kiwi scored 85 off 55 balls with the help of eight boundaries and four maximums. 

Ruturaj Gaikwad reached his half-century in 33 balls. By then he had equalled batting great Sachin Tendulkar’s record to become the  joint-fastest Indian player to score 1000 runs in the IPL. The two have taken 31 innings to achieve the feat. 

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Gaikwad did not have a good start to IPL 2022. The 25-year-old was battling for consistency when he played a 73-run hand vs the Gujarat Titans earlier in the season. He has now followed it up with a score of 99. 

The CSK opener hit four boundaries and six maximums before slashing T Natarajan’s short delivery into Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s hands at backward point. He then walked away disappointed. 

Talking about the innings, Gaikwad said that he was trying to maintain balance all the time. 

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“The game plan was pretty simple. The wicket was on the slower side, so I took my time to get in. I have not batted with him (Conway), but I have spent a lot of time with him. Whatever I wanted from him, I was pretty upfront,” he said. 

“It (the pitch) was a bit slower, but I feel if you get set, you can score here. I was trying to maintain the balance, so I tried to be neutral. It’s pretty much usual, the thought process was on being focussed on the process.”