IND vs SA: You Are Going To Have Off Days And Really Bad Days In T20 Cricket – Ruturaj Gaikwad

Young India opening batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad has said that a player is bound to have “really bad days” in T20 cricket and it is all about staying mentally strong.

Gaikwad got the opportunity to open the innings with Ishan Kishan in South Africa T20Is after KL Rahul got ruled out of the entire series. Ruturaj Gaikwad failed to perform very well in the first 2 games.

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However, in the 3rd game, he performed brilliantly at the Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday, June 14.

He smashed his maiden T20I half-century and before getting dismissed by Keshav Maharaj in the 10th over he scored 57 runs off 35 balls, including 7 fours and 2 sixes.

Speaking after the match, Ruturaj Gaikwad said that the people started expecting a lot more from him after he won the orange cap in the Indian Premier League 2021. He also talked about his batting performance in the recently concluded Indian Premier League 2022.

“I had a really good last year. So obviously a lot of people come with a lot of expectations when you have such a great year, in IPL and in domestic cricket,” Gaikwad said after the 3rd T20I against South Africa.

“In this IPL, the wickets were slightly bowler-friendly, there were not many flat wickets, there were two-paced wickets, the ball was turning, there was some swing. So in the IPL in three-four games I got out to good balls, and some dismissals, a good shot went into the fielder’s hands.”

Gaikwad said that the surface in the first 2 T20Is was on “the tacky side” and the surface in the third game was good so he played his natural game.

“It is part and parcel of T20 cricket. You are going to have off days and really bad days. It is a matter of staying consistent mentally and trusting your process. Coming into this series, I felt the first two wickets were slightly on the tacky side, so coming here, good wicket, I played my game,” he said.

It was about keeping a positive mindset – Ruturaj Gaikwad

Gaikwad further said that the surface in the 3rd T20I was slightly sticky for the first couple of overs so he and Kishan played cautiously before going aggressive.

“It was about keeping a positive mindset. It was slightly sticky for the first couple of overs, so we were thinking that we should not lose a wicket, and then we should try to maximise the powerplay from the fourth over onwards. Luckily, it worked out for me as well as Ishan (Kishan),” he smashed.

In the 5th over of India’s innings in the 3rd T20I Ruturaj Gaikwad smashed 4 fours to express pacer Anrich Nortje and he also got a four for leg byes.

“As I said, we were looking to maximise and so I kept taking my chances,” Gaikwad told Yuzvendra Chahal on the BCCI website.

“I wasn’t thinking that I’ve already got two-three boundaries in the over. It was just that if it was in my zone, I would go for the boundary. I was looking to continue an aggressive mindset.”

Chahal TV is BACK! ? ?

Enjoy this special segment of @yuzi_chahal chatting up with @Ruutu1331 after #TeamIndia's win in Vizag. ? ? – By @28anand

Full interview ? ? #INDvSA | @Paytm https://t.co/nzzoyQBrPO pic.twitter.com/28DH2xK3zt

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 15, 2022

Also Read: IND vs SA: I Was Trying To Turn The Ball More Today – Yuzvendra Chahal After Winning MoTM In 3rd T20I

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