Ruturaj Gaikwad gave everyone a timely reminder of his existence when he produced a marathon 220-run knock for Maharashtra against Uttar Pradesh in the quarterfinal of the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Monday and followed with another marathon innings of 168 against Assam in the semis. Gaikwad, who has been left out of India's limited-overs squad, not only produced back-to-back jaw-dropping innings, but also smashed a world record by becoming the only batter in history to smoke seven sixes in an over. In the 49th over of the Maharashtra innings, bowled by left-arm spinner Shiva Singh, Gaikwad took him to the cleaners dispatching him over the ropes seven times in the over courtesy a no-ball resulting in a free-hit.
A day later, Gaikwad was on the verge of achieving another record – of becoming the only batter to score consecutive double centuries in limited-overs cricket – but missed it when he top-edged Riyan Parag to miss the feat 32 runs. As he now gears up for the final, Gaikwad rated his double century higher than the one he played against Assam and added that he wasn't too disappointed on missing out a second successive double ton.
"No disrespect to Assam bowlers but UP was a far better and all-round attack. And we had lost two early wickets and it was my first comeback game after the injury and our first knockout game, so there was much more pressure so I would rate the innings against UP higher," Gaikwad told Sportstar.
{{/usCountry}}"No disrespect to Assam bowlers but UP was a far better and all-round attack. And we had lost two early wickets and it was my first comeback game after the injury and our first knockout game, so there was much more pressure so I would rate the innings against UP higher," Gaikwad told Sportstar.
{{/usCountry}}"I wasn't disappointed at all. In fact, I was in such a zone that I didn't even realise I had crossed 150 and didn't even raise the bat, so missing out on a double hundred is not a big deal at all."
Gaikwad then turned his attention to Shiva, the bowler he smoked for 43 runs in the over. The Maharashtra captain mentioned that he wanted to go and have a word with Shiva after the match but couldn't. However, had he gotten the opportunity to do so, here is how he would have consoled the youngster after his forgettable outing.
"He must have been understandably dejected but all I would like to remind him is to remember Stuart Broad went for six sixes in an over (in the 2007 World Twenty20) and has had an outstanding career, so there's a lesson in it for every bowler," Gaikwad said.