Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag heaped a praise on Chennai Super Kings opener Ruturaj Gaikwad for his terrific knock against Gujarat Titans in the opening game of the Indian Premier League 2023. The stylish opener hit nine superb sixes to score 92 runs off 50 balls in an astonishing batting display.

Talking about CSK Opener’s innings in the Cricbuzz show, Virender Sehwag lauded Ruturaj Gaikwad for his exceptional performance in Ahmedabad, stating that it was a joy to watch him bat comparing him to Virat Kohli and hailed him from shot selection against.

“I often use these words for Virat Kohli, but the way he batted today, was a real joy to my eyes. That’s the way he batted. No one was able to connect shots (for CSK) in that innings, everyone was getting out early, but he continued with his strong shots. He scored more sixes than fours in his innings! And that’s when he doesn’t have a reputation of scoring sixes,” Virender Sehwag said.

Coming to the match, asked to bat first Chennai Super Kings scored 178 runs for the loss of 7 wickets with Ruturaj Gaikwad being the only bright spot in the batting for CSK with MS Dhoni finishing the innings with a small cameo at the end and Rashid Khan was the pick of the bowler for Gujarat Titans providing crucial breakthrough of picking important wickets of England duo Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes.

With 179 runs to chase, Gujarat Titans dealt a huge blow by losing their debutant Kane Williamson due to an injury during the 1st innings, but the man in form Shubman Gill played exceptional innings to score 63 runs in just 36 balls and valuable contribution by Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan providing the finishing touch for the defending champions.

Ruturaj Gaikwad Would Be Disappointed Not To Score Century – Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag recalled the memories of the Ruturaj Gaikwad innings Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy where he hit seven sixes in an over to point out his power-hitting ability and also reckoned that Gaikwad was unfortunate to miss out on the well-deserved century against Gujarat Titans, where he fell out by 8 runs short of a century.

“Yes, he did hit seven sixes in an over in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy domestic tournament last season. And I don’t think that record will ever be broken. This was a brilliant inning. I think he would be disappointed to not score a century, and the height call on delivery was debatable. But then again, the umpire’s decision is paramount,” Virender Sehwag further said.

Chennai Super Kings at one stage looked going past 200 runs but the runs flow stopped at one stage, where CSK scored only 85 runs in the last 10 overs, Ruturaj Gaikwad’s knock went in vain with him finding no support from the other end, with him scoring 90 runs off just 52 balls, while the rest of the batters just managed 78 off 71. Chennai Super Kings will look to make comeback against Lucknow Super Giants on their home soil on April 2.