[Watch] Ruturaj Gaikwad smashes a stylish six to notch up 52-ball century in 3rd IND vs AUS T20I
Team India opener Ruturaj Gaikwad smashed a 52-ball century to power his side to a massive total of 222/3 in the first innings of the 3rd T20I against Australia on Tuesday (November 28) in Guwahati.
Ruturaj paced his innings to perfection and took down the bowling attack in the death overs with his elegant strokeplay. The CSK player scored only 21 runs off the initial 21 balls he faced but accelerated at high gear after that to reach his maiden century in international cricket.
Gaikwad reached the milestone on the first delivery of the 20th over with a six over deep mid-wicket against Glenn Maxwell. He celebrated the hundred by sporting a wide smile while acknowledging the applause from everyone.
You can watch the moment in the below video:
Ruturaj Gaikwad steadied the ship after India lost 2 wickets inside 3 overs
Australia captain Matthew Wade won the toss and opted to bowl first in the contest. Kane Richardson and Jason Behrendorff extracted swing with the new ball and troubled the Indian top-order batters. Yashasvi Jaiswal tried to hit his way out and perished in the second over for 6 (6).
Ishan Kishan did not look in touch and departed for a 5-ball duck in the next over. Suryakumar Yadav and Ruturaj Gaikwad then weathered the storm by batting watchfully against Behrendorf, who was bowling with great rhythm.
Suryakumar Yadav played smartly and attacked the other bowlers to keep the scoreboard ticking. Ruturaj took time and held one end up while the Indian captain pressed on the accelerator after the powerplay. Aaron Hardie dismissed Surya (39 off 29) in the 11th over and broke the 57-run third-wicket partnership.
Things got worse for Australia from there as Ruturaj Gaikwad shifted gears drastically and went on a carnage, smashing the bowlers all around the park. Tilak Varma (31* off 24) played second fiddle to him with a handy knock. Ruturaj hit 13 fours and 7 sixes en route to 123* (57) and helped India notch up a mammoth total of 222.