Maharashtra batter Ruturaj Gaikwad is in fiery form in the ongoing domestic one-day Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament. He slammed his second successive century helping his team thump Chhattisgarh by 8 wickets on December 9, 2021.
The Maharashtra skipper on Wednesday left the job unfinished getting out for 136 in their high-scoring chase against Madhya Pradesh, but this time he paced his innings beautifully on way to an unbeaten 143-ball 154 and hunt down 277 with three overs to spare.
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The 24-year-old batter, who has been retained by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for IPL 2022, also donning the yellow for Maharashtra, slammed five sixes and 14 boundaries and was in total control of the chase.
This performance of his has put him in focus for the upcoming ODI tour of South Africa, where India plays three matches.
On the other hand, Madhya Pradesh’s Venkatesh Iyer showed his batting and bowling might against Sanju Samson’s Kerala. Coming in at no.4, Iyer smashed an 84-ball 112 (7x4, 4x6), helping MP put up 329/9. Then bagged 3/55 as Kerala was dismissed for 289 with Puneet Datey taking four wickets.
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With Hardik Pandya taking himself out of India team selection contention, Venkatesh Iyer’s such performances will benefit immensely as India prepares for the South Africa tour and the long home season.
Interestingly, Iyer was also retained by his IPL franchise, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction.
(PTI inputs)
