Ruturaj Gaikwad smashes third consecutive hundred in Vijay Hazare Trophy
The calendar year 2021 keeps getting better and better for Ruturaj Gaikwad. The Orange Cap winner of IPL 2021 has now smashed three consecutive centuries in the ongoing Vijay Hazare trophy to showcase his talent in the one-day format of the game.
His first tournament century came on the 8th of December, in the round 2 match against Chhattisgarh. He scored 154 runs off 143 to help his team chase down 276. The second one came a day later in the game against Madhya Pradesh, where Gaikwad scored 136 off 112 to provide his team a great start to chase the mammoth total of 328.
In the third game of the competition, Maharastra faced Kerela in a riveting encounter. The pace bowling duo Basil Thampi and MD Nidheesh picked up two quick wickets to reduce Maharashtra to 22 for 2 in the sixth over. From there onwards, Ruturaj and Rahul Tripathi strung together a 195-run partnership. Both the batters played some good cricketing shots to bring up their half-centuries. Rahul Tripathi was unlucky to depart for 99, but Ruturaj ensured his third consecutive century in just four days. He played a superb knock of 124 off 129 to help his team post a massive total of 291.
With the help of this knock, Ruturaj has taken his tally of total runs in this tournament to 414 runs in just three innings. His magnificent outing has sent a strong message for his contention for a place in the ODI squad of India. The 24-year-old earlier made his T20I debut with India and was also named in the T20I series against New Zealand last month.
