'Bring him in Indian team' - Twitter in awe of Ruturaj Gaikwad as he scores another hundred against Assam in Vijay Hazare Trophy

Ruturaj Gaikwad entered the history books on Monday as he became the first player to hit seven sixes in an over in List A cricket. He also equalled the List-A world record of 43 runs in an over, during the Vijay Hazare Trophy quarter-final between Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.  The Maharashtra batter carried his great form in the semi-final as well, as he notched up another hundred against Assam.

Gaikwad, who is also the captain of the Maharashtra team, scored a magnificent 168 off 126 balls with the help of 18 fours and six sixes to guide his team to 350/7 at the end of 50 overs. He was well supported by Ankit Bawne who also scored a brilliant 110 off 89 balls with the help of 10 fours and two sixes. The duo were involved in a 207-run-partnership off just 139 balls as they ripped apart the Assam bowling attack.

Ruturaj Gaikwad has amassed 552 runs so far in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022 at an average of 276 and a strike rate of 122.66. He has smashed three hundreds in the season so far. He is also the fourth-highest run-getter of the tournament so far.

Coming back to his record-breaking achievement in the quarter-final, Gaikwad achieved the feat in the 49th over of the Maharashtra innings. The left-arm spin bowler Shiva Singh conceded a no ball in the fifth delivery of the over which was also smashed over the boundary ropes at the Narendra Modi Stadium B Ground in Ahmedabad. The over began with the scoreboard reading 272 for 5, and ended with Maharashtra on 315 for 5.

Ruturaj Gaikwad scored an unbeaten knock of 220 runs in 159 balls in the quarter-finals

The total of 43 runs from the over also made it to the record books, matching the combined effort of Brett Hampton and Joe Carter, off Willem Ludick, for Northern Districts against Central Districts in a Ford Trophy game in 2018.

Gaikwad carried his bat through the innings for a sensational unbeaten knock of 220 runs in 159 balls, with the help of 10 fours and 16 sixes. Thanks to his knock, Maharashtra posted 330 for five after batting first, with the rest of the team only managing 96 runs from 142 deliveries. Maharashtra ended up winning the match by 58 runs.

Twitter was abuzz with reactions as Gaikwad once again breached the 100-run mark. Here are some of the best reactions:

Yet another ton for Ruturaj Gaikwad in all important semifinal. Interesting is that Maharashtra have scored 350/7 exactly the total that Assam managed to chase down couple of days ago at the same place. #MAHvASM #RuturajGaikwad #VijayHazareTrophy

— Shantanu Smart (@smartshantanu) November 30, 2022

Ruturaj Gaikwad 🔥🔥🔥 150 in semis as well #CSK #MahvsAss

— Sathya (@sathya1405) November 30, 2022

Highest scores in knockout stages of Vijay Hazare Trophy :-

220* - Ruturaj Gaikwad v UP, QF 2022
192 - Ravikumar Samarth v Kerala, QF 2021
185* - Prithvi Shaw v Saurashtra, QF 2021
170* - Wasim Jaffer v Delhi, QF 2007
168 - Ruturaj Gaikwad v Assam, SF today#VijayHazareTrophy

— Rhitankar Bandyopadhyay (@rhitankar8616) November 30, 2022

#RuturajGaikwad once again 150+ runs..
👌👌@Ruutu1331 🏏👍

— Mahe(sh)ndra's Fan Boy™ (@Callme_Lakesh_G) November 30, 2022

Most centuries in #VijayHazareTrophy :-
11* - Ruturaj Gaikwad
11* - Ankit Bawne
11 - Robin Uthappa
10 - Yashpal Singh
9 - Abhinav Mukund
9 - Dinesh Karthik
8 - Sheldon Jackson
8 - N Jagadeeshan

Ruturaj & Bawne now jointly top the list after their 168 and 110 vs Assam today.

— Rhitankar Bandyopadhyay (@rhitankar8616) November 30, 2022

Ruturaj Gaikwad in Last 9 innings in List A Cricket.

164
220*
40
124*
168
21
124
154*
136

📷 : BCCI#RuturajGaikwad #Cricket #VijayHazareTrophy #News pic.twitter.com/jJi59KMlK5

— Fantasy Prediction For Free (@fp4f_family) November 30, 2022

Ruturaj Gaikwad joined in the list of players to score most centuries in Vijay Hazare Trophy. #WhistlePodu #IPL #CSK #Cricket

— MSDian™ (@ItzThanesh) November 30, 2022

Ruturaj Gaikwad in Vijay Hazare Trophy:

👉 220* (159) in Quarterfinal
👉 168 (126) in Semifinal#INDvsNZ pic.twitter.com/2Vq7xtdLRA

— SportsBash (@thesportsbash) November 30, 2022

#RuturajGaikwad is on another level !❣
He deserve more chances for national Team !@Ruutu1331 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/gzIgjUArRT

— Smit Parmar (@smitt_parmar) November 30, 2022

124*,40,220* & 168 in last 4 innings of #VijayHazareTrophy2022 by #RuturajGaikwad insane numbers. 552 runs in just 4 innings, he shld deserve a place in squad. Might take #Maharashtra to finals and win it as well.

— Karthik Chandra (@BVKC82) November 30, 2022

Maharashtra is looking good this time, its time to challenge our first VHT Title
Let's defend this 351 target and book our seat to the final.
All thanks to the man in form Ruturaj and Bawane#VijayHazareTrophy #Maharashtra #RuturajGaikwad #Assam

— Yash._.45x10 🇮🇳x🇦🇷 (@Yash_45x10) November 30, 2022

Instead of giving young players like Ruturaj Gaikwad, BCCI selectors playing aged Shikhar Dhawan & Statpadder KL Rahul For Bangladesh odi series. Why can't @BCCI SELECT IN-FORM PLAYERS ? Pick youngsters who are performing in domestic cricket & give them an extended run.

— Sandeep Bhardwaj (@SBhardwaj2580) November 30, 2022

Way to go ruturaj gaikwad. #ruturajgaikwad on fire in semi final of vijay hazare trophy. Its a such sad things to see you not get to play Indian odi team. Where we can't even score 250. Here you alone scored 168. #INDvsNZ https://t.co/sju1qmTKDR

— Aravind Prasad (@aravindgp) November 30, 2022