Ruturaj Gaikwad close to breaking huge record set by Virat Kohli

Indian opener Ruturaj Gaikwad has shown his talents with the bat during the ongoing T20I series against Australia. The 26-year-old is now close to breaking a huge record set by former Indian skipper Virat Kohli.

Team India sealed the series against Australia on Friday after their 20-run win in Raipur. The series score-line stands at 3-1 ahead of the final game which is to be played on Sunday in Bengaluru.

Is Virat Kohli’s record set to be broken?

Ruturaj Gaikwad had scored 213 runs from the four games so far in the five-match T20I series against Australia. On Sunday the right-handed batter needs 19 runs he will break a two-year-old record set by Virat Kohli.

Former India skipper Virat Kohli had scored 231 runs against England in 2021 during the 5-match T20I series. The series included an unbeaten half-century in the final game of the series while opening the batting in Ahmedabad.

The Indian opener began the series with a duck in the first game in Visakhapatnam. This was with a 58-run knock during the 2^nd game in Thiruvananthapuram. Ruturaj Gaikwad then scored his first century for India during the third game in Guwahati to stay not out on 123. 

On Friday, Ruturaj Gaikwad could only score 28 before falling to Tanveer Sangha. Bangalore is the home ground of Virat Kohli in the IPL and the Indian opener has a chance to break this record in Kohli’s ground. 

Former India pacer and Gujarat Titans coach Ashish Nehra heaped praise on Ruturaj Gaikwad recently. Speaking to Jio Cinema, Ashish Nehra said “There’s no doubt that Ruturaj Gaikwad is a three-format player for India. The kind of elegance that Ruturaj Gaikwad shows is unbelievable, amazing and it was a great knock”  

Ashish Nehra also said “Everybody knows what kind of player Ruturaj Gaikwad is. When you talk about Yashasvi Jaiswal, his game is completely different to Gaikwad’s. You need solidity in the T20 format as well and that’s what Gaikwad brings to the table”

The Indian batter himself has praised MS Dhoni for the faith the CSK skipper has shown on him. After his century in Guwahati, the Indian batter said to Jio Cinema “No. I would say I learned being in CSK because, you know, Mahi bhai is always keen on reading situations, you know, understanding the game, how the game will progress. And he is more or less sends a message where you have to look for a team score.”