Ruturaj Gaikwad credits MS Dhoni for teaching him the nuances of building an innings after maiden T20I century

Ruturaj Gaikwad slammed his first ever T20I century against Australia in the 3rd match of the five-match series by playing a 57-ball 123 knock and with his he also smoked multiple records in international T20I cricket. The 26-year-old centurion became the youngest player to hit a T20I century against Australia and is the only ninth Indian batter to score a ton in T20I cricket.

When asked about his stellar knock, the young Indian opener credited his CSK captain MS Dhoni for his special knock. He stated that he learned a lot about understanding the situation of the match and building your innings according to it from MS Dhoni because he reads the game well and bats according to the score of the game.

Speaking to the official broadcaster after his innings Gaikwad said, “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,".

He added, “You know what the team requires at that certain stage, irrespective of where you are batting, Either you are batting on 15 or not out or you just started, what the team requires just in particular that over. So I think that has stayed with me. And I'm trying to continue that”.

Akash Chopra heaps of praise for Gaikwad

Former Indian opener and cricket analyst Akash Chopra after Gaikwad’s innings sang his praises and said that he is one of those batters which reminds him of the fact that technique in batting doesn’t restrict you but liberates you. It means that if you are a technically good player then you can play attacking shots with ease as you will make fewer errors while playing a lofted shot and will more often succeed in doing so.

Akash Chopra said, “He had scored 22 runs off his first 22 balls and you were thinking what was happening. It was a reconstruction phase but Surya was hitting and Rutu was still taking his time. 210-220 had to be scored.

He further added, “You couldn't have even fought in anything less than that," he said."Then Ruturaj Gaikwad changed gears. Certain players make you realize repeatedly that technique does not shackle you, it liberates you. He batted extremely well. He was brilliant, scored 123.”