Ruturaj Gaikwad was the star for the West Zone team in the second Duleep Trophy 2025 semi-final against Central Zone. This match began on September 4, 2025, and is being played at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground B, Bengaluru.
West Zone captain Shardul Thakur won the toss and chose to bat first. But Deepak Chahar and Khaleel Ahmed removed the West Zone openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (4) and Harvik Desai (1) for cheap. Then Aarya Desai (39) added 82 runs with Ruturaj Gaikwad for the third wicket.
Despite wickets falling at the other end, Gaikwad continued to score runs. He made 184 runs with 25 runs and one six. West Zone ended day one on 363/6 with Tanush Kotian unbeaten on 65 and Shardul on 24*.
"I had a good time to prepare, especially after not being part of the India A series. And then after that, coming back, I decided to work on my red ball game, give it some amount of time, and obviously I'm still working on it; there's still a long way to go," said Gaikwad after the end of the day's play.
This was Gaikwad’s second successive hundred in domestic cricket, as he had made a ton against Himachal Pradesh in the Buchi Babu invitational tournament in Chennai.
"Not really. Actually, it was just about following the process. The red ball game actually needs a lot of patience and a lot of processes to be followed, and it was just about getting into that rhythm. And you know, I did it for almost one or one and a half months, and obviously Buchi Babu as well, and then it happened here as well," he said on being asked about returning after an injury break.
Gaikwad said the absence from cricket also helped him calm down mentally and spend some quality time with his family.
"I mean, nobody would want to have family time while being injured. It was a very fluke injury, and there is nothing anyone can do about it. So, I just enjoyed my time at home and then obviously tried to get into the rhythm, get into the game routines, you know, do the small things, and really loved the process throughout," he noted.
As he began batting at No. 4 in both forms for his home state of Maharashtra and in numerous matches for the Chennai Super Kings, the 28-year-old faced yet another challenge.
"I won't say it is 2.0 because, you know, I think in white ball, I always opened, but in red ball, there was only one spot available in Maharashtra when I joined the team. So, I think that was the only spot available. Whenever you know, there were two proper openers playing, I always used to play at three. So, definitely, there were no real spots for me, but now, obviously, I feel I am really comfortable there," he added.
On this particular day, as he fought valiantly to save West Zone from a precarious 10 for two with a significant score, that comfortable factor was clearly evident.
"I thought it was a good challenge to be part of because, obviously, there are three really good (Central Zone) fast bowlers, you know, with great skill sets, and to be able to face them, to be able to score runs against them, would be a great challenge. That is what I thought, and obviously, I stick to it and am really happy that it came off," he said.
Recently, legendary MS Dhoni said Gaikwad will be back to strengthen CSK batting in IPL 2026, and the Maharashtrian accepted the compliment with glee.
"From him, the support was always there. There was nothing to be shy about, and obviously, you know, I missed that tournament and then later on had some replacements. It really strengthened the squad (in IPL 2025), and then obviously, my joining back again would really strengthen it again. So, I feel that is what he said," said Gaikwad.
(PTI inputs)
