Ruturaj Gaikwad was India’s stand-out batter in the second ODI against South Africa at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur on Wednesday (December 3).
The right-hander, who opens the innings in List A cricket, repaid the faith of the team management as he adapted to the No. 4 role by hitting his maiden ODI ton (105 off 83).
His knock was studded with 12 fours and two sixes, at a strike-rate of 126.51. He reached his fifty off 52 balls, before accelerating in superb fashion to notch up his first ODI century in just 77 deliveries.
After the game, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin urged the team management to give Gaikwad a long run in ODIs, even after regular skipper Shubman Gill and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer return from their injury layoffs.
“Yes, Ruturaj is an opening batter. Some people argue he shouldn’t bat at No. 4. In the IPL, your best batters must be in the top three. But there are possibilities for Ruturaj at No. 4 in ODIs,” Ashwin said while speaking on his YouTube channel.
“He handles seamers well. He has a slight weakness against the moving ball, and he won’t need to face that much if he’s batting at No. 4. He is a terrific player of spin and runs hard between the wickets. He has all the shots in the book. There is nothing more he needs to prove to bat at No. 4.
“Tomorrow, even if Shreyas Iyer returns, you can still accommodate Ruturaj Gaikwad. I don’t know exactly how, but I’ve thought of many innovative ideas. Do you push Ruturaj up the order? I’m not sure. For a player of such pedigree, he deserves a long run,” he added.
Ruturaj Gaikwad was involved in a huge 195-run third-wicket stand with batting stalwart Virat Kohli, who scored his 53rd ODI century and second consecutive in the ongoing series against South Africa.
However, their hundreds went in vain as South Africa rode on Aiden Markram’s ton (110 off 98) and crucial contributions from Matthew Breetzke (68 off 64), Dewald Brevis (54 off 34) and Corbin Bosch (29* off 15) to overhaul the formidable 359-run target with four wickets as many deliveries to spare.
Ashwin offered a detailed assessment of the Gaikwad-Kohli partnership, saying: “Their knock went in vain, but the combination worked beautifully. Generally, Virat doesn’t take risks against left-arm spin—he drives down the ground or cuts to the off side for singles. When facing an off-spinner, he occasionally takes risks, as we saw when he attacked Prenelan Subrayen in the first ODI.”
“But Ruturaj was showing the stumps to play inside-out shots and taking on the sweeps. He even took Keshav Maharaj over mid-on. Maharaj has been quite the bowler for South Africa, a real lynchpin. Once Ruturaj took him on, Maharaj didn’t have answers. He has made up for Shreyas Iyer’s absence in double gear,” Ashwin remarked.
With this defeat, India allowed South Africa to level the three-match series 1-1. The series-deciding third ODI will take place in Visakhapatnam on Saturday (December 6).
