‘Pure season raaj karega’ – Fans react as Ruturaj Gaikwad scores second consecutive fifty in Indian T20 League 2023

After losing their opening fixture against the Gujarat franchise by five wickets, the Chennai franchise are locking horns against Lucknow in the sixth fixture of the 2023 edition of the Indian T20 League (ITL) at the M.A. Chidambaram, in Chennai on Monday, April 3.

The Lucknow franchise skipper, KL Rahul won the toss and elected to bowl first. After almost 4 years, Chennai will play their first home game, and MS Dhoni, the home team skipper will be the center of attention. To lead the points table, Lucknow will aim to secure their second straight victory in the competition.

Batting first, Chennai openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway built up a stunning partnership of 110 runs off just 55 balls before the former was sent back to the pavilion by England’s ace pacer Mark Wood after scoring a total of 57 runs off 31 balls, which included three fours and four sixes. The New Zealand opener also scored crucial 47 runs from 29 balls with five fours and two sixes.

Star India batters, Shivam Dube and Ambati Rayudu played small but important knocks for the Chennai franchise. The former scored 27 runs off 16 balls with one four and three sixes, whereas on the other hand, the latter scored an unbeaten knock of 27 runs from 14 balls with two fours and two sixes.

MS Dhoni also played a quickfire knock of 12 runs off just three ball he faced in the last over which included two brilliant sixes. With these two sixes, he completed his 5000 runs in Indian T20 League and became seventh, overall, to do this in the cash-rich league.

“It was a great start tonight, the way Rutu played- that first six was pretty special. Took the pressure off me. He is sneakily strong, holds his shape really well and uses his hands well. The slower ball into the wicket might be a good option. Pretty difficult to hit due to the unpredictability of speeds,” Conway was quoted as d=saying during the mid-innings interview.

“With the spinners, some skid on so if we hit the right lengths batting can be difficult. Very special feeling when I got here earlier. The crowd was pretty loud, really great atmosphere and watching MS go out there for the last over was pretty special. The message has been to just go out there and enjoy ourselves,” the left-hand batter added.

Here’s how fans reacted on Ruturaj Gaikwad’s innings: