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The star Chennai opener Ruturaj Gaikwad amazed everyone with his sensational batting in the tournament opener against Gujarat at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. He played a swashbuckling knock of 92 runs off 50 balls with four boundaries and nine sixes to his name. On the back of his blistering knock, the visitors managed to post a total of 178 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the allotted 20 overs.
Later on, the opponent skipper Hardik Pandya also lavished the praise on the 26-year-old for his amazing batting excellence in the first match of the tournament. Hardik also backed Gaikwad to be the next big thing in Indian cricket in terms of the batting legacy.
"If Ruturaj is batting like this, he is going to do wonders for Indian cricket, he has the game & when the time comes, I am sure the Indian team will back him enough,” said Pandya after the match after the win against Chennai.
Subsequently, a section of the Indian cricket fans took it as an opportunity to troll Hardik Pandya; it is because it was only Hardik Pandya who benched Gaikwad last time when the latter was picked in the national squad of India.
Here’s how fans reacted:
Ha isiliye tune usse bench Kiya... Chhapri Landya
— Unknown_♡ (@fuckkkproblems) April 1, 2023
Backing ke chakkar mein team hi khatam hojayegi
— ℛ𝒶𝓀ℯ𝓈𝒽 🐅 (@Spenses01) April 1, 2023
27 ka to ho gaya hai ab kya SKY ki tarah 30+ age me khelega kya wo
— Maijul CricLover (@MaijulCricket) April 1, 2023
I have a feeling with Shubhman Gill as opener he would find it tough to crack a spot in Indian squad , he had his chances in the past but wasted it
— ً (@SarcasticCowboy) April 1, 2023
30 saal ka buddha 🤣🤣
— S¹⁸ (@imsaurav_vk) April 1, 2023
BCCI & Rohit- यह हम कर लेंगे, आप जब तक अपने खेल पर ध्यान दे लीजिएगा...#hardikpandya #ipl
— Deepak Kaurav (@deepakkaurav53) April 1, 2023
abbey pahele back kar aur chance de
— Ratnadip Sarkar (@Iamratnadip008) April 1, 2023
And guess what , he was the one who benched him in T20s💀
— Cric8ly 🏏 (@MR_Alpha_21) April 1, 2023
Ipl heros are as good as KL RAHUL in International
— Htx45 (@tarnetino) April 1, 2023
Bhai eas tarah to KL bhi IPL badiya khelta hai 😂
— Bencho (@RohanSi46198143) April 1, 2023
Yet another IPL only player
— astroHk (@harshkr1396) April 1, 2023
But this chapri benched him whole series
— peer haseeb (@haseebpeer6) April 1, 2023
Backing ke chakkar mein team hi khatam hojayegi
— ℛ𝒶𝓀ℯ𝓈𝒽 🐅 (@Spenses01) April 1, 2023
Talking a bit more about the match, Gujarat skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and decided to field first; Chennai posted a target of 179 runs for Gujarat to win the match. Later on, the star young opener Shubman Gill played a blistering knock of 63 runs off just 36 balls with six boundaries and three sixes on his credit. Eventually, the hosts managed to chase down the target in 19.2 overs courtesy of the thrilling match-finishing partnership between Rashid Khan and Rahul Tewatia to win the match by five wickets.
Rashid Khan won the ‘player of the match award for his match-defining all-round performance in favor of the reigning champions.