'So much to like about Ruturaj Gaikwad' - Ravi Shastri lauds young batter for stellar show against SRH

Young CSK batter Ruturaj Gaikwad lit up the MCA, Pune on May 1 with his classy knock that included the shots worth lauding. While CSK is having a tough run this time around, Gaikwad left no stone unturned to turn back the clock and bring his absolute best to the fore against SRH. Talking in terms of his classy innings, former India head coach Ravi Shastri praised him with an open heart.

Shastri was in awe of Gaikwad’s ability to tackle express pace with so much ease in the game against SRH. Being put to bat first, Gaikwad and his Kiwi partner Devon Conway started giving nightmares to the SRH bowling attack and registered a record opening partnership of 182 runs.

“So much to like about RG. Plays express pace like most do against medium pace. He will get there in time. No Doubts. Classy stuff tonight @Ruutu1331@ChennaiIPL@IPL#SRHvsCSK #IPL2022,” tweeted Ravi Shastri.

So much to like about RG. Plays express pace like most do against medium pace. He will get there in time. No Doubts. Classy stuff tonite @Ruutu1331 @ChennaiIPL @IPL #SRHvsCSK #IPL2022 pic.twitter.com/M4EQR9vEg6

— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) May 1, 2022

Gaikwad made merry in Pune at the expense of Hyderabad bowlers to accelerate his way to 99 runs in just 57 deliveries. However, CSK fans had a heartbreak when the young lad was shown his way back by T Natarajan while being just one short of a ton.

Ruturaj Gaikwad found the best support in Devon Conway

Conway, who found his best support in Ruturaj, also went berserk to send bowlers for cleaners as he closed his innings on an unbeaten 85. Due to the opening blitz provided by these two batters, the yellow army marched its way to breach the 200-run mark. While several SRH batters in form of Abhishek Sharma, Kane Williamson, and Nicholas Pooran showed intent to chase down the target, they couldn’t survive the heat of the rising required rate.

The batting show by CSK didn’t seem enough to Mukesh Choudhary who further didn’t let SRH batters breathe with his four-for, albeit being a bit costly. However, Ravindra Jadeja breathed lighter after relinquishing captaincy and choked the batters of Orange Army while conceding at 5.00.