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New Delhi: Ruturaj Gaikwad justified his selection in the ODI side with a statement knock. He raced to his maiden ODI hundred by shifting gears smartly, reaching his fifty off 53 balls and then converting it into a century in just 77 deliveries. It was a strong response after his struggle in Ranchi, especially when he walked in with India at 62 for 2 following Yashasvi Jaiswal’s dismissal.

Gaikwad began cautiously but his confidence grew with every ball he faced. He kept the scoreboard moving through smart rotation of strike, and his control against the spinners stood out throughout the innings. After the Ranchi ODI, questions were raised over his No. 4 spot, where he was dismissed for just eight runs. He replaced Shreyas Iyer in the side, who is currently unavailable due to injury.

He eventually fell for 105 off 83 balls to Marco Jansen, but not before making a huge impact. Alongside Kohli, he recorded the highest partnership for India against South Africa in an ODI for any wicket. The pair went past the previous best – a 194-run stand between Sachin Tendulkar and Dinesh Karthik in Gwalior.

That maiden ODI hundred feeling! 💯😎

A Roaring knock in Raipur from Ruturaj Gaikwad 🙌

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Ruturaj last played for India in December 2023, and now he has made a strong comeback after almost two years. He quietly scored 201 runs in three innings for India A to stay on the selectors’ radar. This knock marked his 18th century in List A cricket, with his highest score being an unbeaten 220 for Maharashtra against Uttar Pradesh in 2022. Gaikwad has usually opened the batting in domestic cricket but this performance highlighted his middle-order credentials as he achieves his first List A hundred as a non-opener and his first ODI hundred as well.

Virat Kohli is in the twilight of his career, but he continues to show that age is just a number. He picked up right where he left off in Ranchi, smashing his 84th international century and notching consecutive ODI hundreds for the 11th time, marking the most by any player in the history of the format.

King Kohli returned to international cricket after almost four months. He played in a three-match ODI series in Australia but failed to score in the first two matches and then scored 74 runs in the third match of the series. He has carried the momentum in this series, scoring consecutive centuries and leading the Men in Blue from the front.