The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opener Ruturaj Gaikwad played a brilliant knock with the bat as the right-hander hit his maiden century in Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in match 47 at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Even though Gaikwad’s 101* (60) took CSK to a competitive 189/4 on a good batting wicket, unfortunately it went in vain as CSK suffered a 7-wicket loss against RR.
The 24-year-old who also became the Orange Cap holder for IPL 2021 with an amazing century talked about working on timing the ball and maintaining his shape.
“It was a slow wicket at the start and slightly damp, as the game progressed it got better. It was important for one of the batters to stay till the 14th or 15th over. I didn't manage to do it in the last few games thankfully it happened today,” Gaikwad told host broadcaster Star Sports at the post-match presentation.
“I am working on timing the ball really well and trying to maintain my shape. It has worked for me for many years. Right from when I started playing cricket, I have relied on timing,” the right-hander added.
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The ace batter Gaikwad, then talked about being picked in MS Dhoni’s CSK back in 2019 and getting an opportunity to learn from some of the greats of the game.
“Against RR, I relied on timing and thankfully it is coming off. My selection in the CSK team in 2019 where I didn't get a chance to play, being in the dressing room I got to learn a lot. I got to know some routines, I got to know what hard work to go through, it was a very good learning curve for me,” the CSK opener said.
“That one thing really helped me a lot. It was a dream, started really slow, didn't dream of getting a hundred, aim was to get to a total of maybe 160-170. I like it (Orange Cap) but I would have loved to be on the winning side,” Gaikwad further said.
RR batters Yashasvi Jaiswal (50) and Shivam Dube (64*) proved to be too good for the current table toppers as Royals kept their playoffs hopes alive by chasing down the target of 190 runs with 15 balls to spare.
The three-time champions CSK will now take on Delhi Capitals (DC) on Monday (4 October) at the Dubai International Stadium.
(With ANI Inputs)
