Ruturaj Gaikwad creates new record for most centuries in Vijay Hazare Trophy history
Ruturaj Gaikwad continues his excellent form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy by registering another century. The Maharashtra skipper slammed his 12th hundred in the tournament's history earlier on Friday against Saurashtra.
The Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022 Final is currently underway in Ahmedabad, where Saurashtra are up against Maharashtra. Saurashtra won the toss and opted to field first. They got off to a great start as Maharashtra were 105/3 after 31.3 overs.
Jaydev Unadkat bowled a tight spell and did not allow the Maharashtra batters easy runs. Ruturaj Gaikwad held one end for Maharashtra, but even he struggled to score runs. At one stage, he was on 29 runs off 71 deliveries.
Gaikwad switched gears soon after completing his half-century. It took him 96 balls to complete his fifty, but he needed only 29 more deliveries to get to his hundred. A captain's knock from Gaikwad helped Maharashtra finish with 248/9 in their 50 overs.
With the 108-run knock against Saurashtra, Gaikwad now owns the record for the most centuries by any player in Vijay Hazare Trophy history. Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa and Gaikwad's current Maharashtra teammate Ankit Bawne jointly held the record previously (11 centuries each).
Most Hundreds in Vijay Hazare Trophy History:
Ruturaj Gaikwad - 12*
Robin Uthappa - 11
Ankit Bawne - 11
Pinnacle of domestic cricket.
Fans should note that Ruturaj Gaikwad has touched triple digits in each of his last three knocks. He hit a double century against Uttar Pradesh in the quarterfinals, which was followed by a ton against Assam in the semifinals and a century against Saurashtra in the final today.
220*(159) in Quarter-Final
168(126) in Semi-Final
108(131) in final
Big stage, captain of Maharashtra stands tall, Take a bow, Ruturaj Gaikwad. https://t.co/3wma61BWT9
Can Ruturaj Gaikwad lead Maharashtra to their first Vijay Hazare Trophy championship?
Maharashtra have never won the Vijay Hazare Trophy ever since the BCCI did away with the zonal format for the competition. In fact, this is the first time Maharashtra are playing in the final.
Saurashtra had won the tournament back in 2007/08. It will be interesting to see if Maharashtra can defend a target of 249 runs in the final.