3 times Ruturaj Gaikwad accelerated superbly after a slow start
Ruturaj Gaikwad's 57-ball 123 received plenty of plaudits when Glenn Maxwell ambled out to the crease in Australia's chase in the third T20I of a five-game series.
After making a slow start, 21 (21) after ten overs, Ruturaj scored a whopping 102 runs off the next 36 balls, including a takedown of Maxwell in the last over that yielded 30 runs.
However, the Australian simply do no wrong, as he notched up a hundred of his own to get Australia past the finish line. While that did take away some attention from Ruturaj's effort, his slow starts in limited-overs cricket only to accelerate as the game goes on isn't a one-off.
While his approach has received mixed reception from experts, the fact remains that he does convert his conservative starts into big scores more often than not. Let's now look at three similar instances where he accelerated superbly after a slow start.
#3 17 (17) to 75 (44) vs SRH, IPL 2021
Contrary to the Ruturaj Gaikwad we saw in IPL 2023, one who almost made it a point to go out all guns blazing in the powerplay, he was known for his conservative batting style early on.
As a result, he did eat up lots of deliveries in the powerplay, occasionally leading the team to trouble. However, more often than not, it paid off, like it did against SRH in IPL 2021.
SRH won the toss and chose to bat first in the game played in Delhi, putting up 171-3. In response, it was another slow start from Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was on 17 (17) at the end of the powerplay, but fortunately for CSK, Faf du Plessis had accelerated enough to make sure thatthey didn't feel the pressure.
Once the spinners came on, Ruturaj took charge. Jagadeesha Suchith bore the brunt of his assault as Ruturaj smashed him for six boundaries before taking on Rashid Khan in the same vein.
While the leg-spinner did finally dismiss Ruturaj, the damage was already done, as CSK reached 129-1 in 13 overs, with Ruturaj accelerating his way to a 44-ball 75.
#2 22 (22) to 101 (60) vs RR, IPL 2021
Ruturaj Gaikwad's first IPL hundred saw a very familiar formula being applied in his innings construction. CSK were put into bat by RR in Abu Dhabi, and as the wicket was a bit tacky at the start, batters were forced to play cautiously, with Gaikwad on 22 (22) when Faf got out in the seventh over with the score at 48-1.
Wickets kept falling at the other end, but past the halfway mark, Ruturaj took the bowlers on. Moeen Ali provided him with some support at the other end, and Gaikwad took on the RR spinners, smashing two sixes of Rahul Tewatia in the 14th over to set the stage for his assault at the death.
Ravindra Jadeja's 15-ball 32 late in the CSK innings meant that Ruturaj didn't get enough strike. Nevertheless, he reached his hundred with a six off the last delivery of the innings for his maiden IPL ton.
Even though CSK lost courtesy a blistering half-century from Yashasvi Jaiswal and a tremendous six-hitting display from Shivam Dube, Ruturaj was awarded the POTM award for his mature and elegant batting display.
#1 18 (35) to 220 (159) vs UP, Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022
Ruturaj Gaikwad made the headlines when he smashed seven sixes in an over in the Vijay Hazare 2022 quarterfinal against Uttar Pradesh off left-arm spinner Shiva Singh. While Maharashtra lost in the Final, Ruturaj had the time of his life, eventually scoring 660 runs in five games, including a double ton against UP.
However, he didn't start off well in this game, and in fact, went into a shell throughout the powerplay as the UP new ball bowlers were relentless in their accuracy. After 10 overs, he was struggling at 18 (35), but after biding his time in his partnership with Ankit Bawne, Ruturaj began accelerating post Bawne's dismissal in the 29th over.
He got to his hundred in the 38th over with a six of Shiva Singh, reaching 100 off 109 balls. The boundary count slowly started increasing as the death overs rolled along, but it was in the 49th over that he truly lit up the tournament. A hapless Shiva Singh could only watch as Gaikwad moved from 165 (147) to 207 (154), smashing seven sixes in the over.
He eventually finished with 220 (159), a far cry from his initial struggles at the crease. Maharashtra made 330-5 and won by 58 runs despite Aryan Juyal's 159.