I Have Backed Myself: Ruturaj Gaikwad On Turning Around His Fortunes With Consecutive 50s

Ruturaj Gaikwad once again displayed just why he is one of the rising young talents in Indian cricket. After having endured a horrendous start to his IPL 2020 campaign, Gaikwad has been on the comeback spree since his last outing against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, where he spearheaded CSK’s run-chase with a classy half-century.

The right-hander took a giant stride in his journey on Thursday as he stamped his authority against the pace and spin bowling attack of the Kolkata Knight Riders. From lofted check-drives to inside-out cover-drives to lofted strokes over the bowlers’ head to cheeky dabs, classy backfoot punches, and authoritative pulls both in front and behind the square to lead CSK’s charge during their run-chase.

Apart from failures in his earlier games, young Gaikwad had also battled the contagion that is Covid-19 at the start of the season, and the manner in which he has made a comeback testified his immense mental fortitude. The right-hander smashed a whirlwind 53-ball 72 to set-up the run-chase before Ravindra Jadeja’s maniac hitting in the last two overs- 31 not-out off 11 balls- helped the Super Kings drive home the game.

”As our captain says, face every situation with a smile”- Ruturaj Gaikwad on his stunning turnaround in fortunes

Gaikwad was deservedly adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’, where he said that despite enduring such difficult times, he had always backed himself besides following his skipper MS Dhoni’s philosophy of facing every situation with a smile and staying positive in the moment.

”It is feeling good. Pretty confident as well. I have backed myself. Both the innings when I got out early, I knew the situation was a little tough. Covid has made me tough. As our captain says, face every situation with a smile. I stayed positive and didn’t think much about the future,” Ruturaj Gaikwad said at the post-match presentation.

Also Read- Ruturaj Gaikwad Is One Of The Talented Youngsters Going Around: MS Dhoni