Chennai Super Kings didn't give their best performance yesterday. They were up against Rajasthan Royals and were batting first at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.
CSK scored 189 in 20 overs, a target that would've felt above par at that time but RR fought back strongly, chasing down the score in 17.3 overs. However, Ruturaj Gaikwad played the innings of his IPL career as he was on fire with his bat, scoring 101* from just 60 balls, firing nine fours and five sixes.
#He scored the first fifty runs in 43 balls and consumed just 17 more deliveries for the next 50. Ruturaj Gaikwad ended his innings with a strike rate of 168.33 and became the first and only IPL batsman to have scored a boundary on the first and the final ball of the innings.
Bought by CSK in the 2018 auction, Ruturaj Gaikwad played his maiden IPL game in 2020, a tough season for the franchise and Ruturaj as he had tested positive for COVID-19 just before the 2020 season commenced.
However, Chennai did see the youngster show his skills towards the last two games of the season, and since then, the 24-year-old hasn't looked behind. He embarked on the 2021 season as CSK'S first-choice opener with Faf du Plessis and the duo have ripped every bowling side they've faced.
#He started the second phase of the IPL with an even better form, having scored 101*, 45, 40, 38, and 88*. He is the current holder of the orange cap with 508 runs in just 12 innings, a tremendous feat to achieve for a 24-year-old.
Let's have a look at some of the other feats he achieved with his ton last night.
#It was the ninth ton for a CSK player in the IPL.
#Ruturaj also became the youngest CSK player to score a century (24y 244d). It was the seventh century in the IPL and third for Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals after Murali Vijay (2010) and Shane Watson (2018).
#Ruturaj Gaikwad now has six man-of-the-match awards in just 18 innings and stands to be the fastest to achieve this feat in terms of matches played.
#If he manages to win the orange cap this season, Ruturaj Gaikwad will become the youngest player to win the Orange Cap in IPL history.
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