In the fourth Twenty20 International encounter between Australia and India, Ruturaj Gaikwad overtook KL Rahul to record an incredible feat.
During the fourth Twenty20 International in Raipur on Friday, Australia hauled things back to stop India at 174 for nine as Rinku Singh raced to a 29-ball 46 and Jitesh Sharma hammered 35 in 19 balls. Ben Dwarshuis (3/40) and Jason Behrendorff (2/32) kept India’s run at 167 for four in 18.3 overs, but they lost five wickets for only seven runs in the final two overs, as Australia chose to bowl first. Yashasvi Jaiswal (37 off 28 balls) got off to a wonderful start with a cover drive off Jason Behrendorff after Aaron Hardie opened the contest with a maiden over. Setting the tone for the hosts in the third over, Jaiswal, 21, pushed himself at Ben Dwarshuis, striking the left-arm seamer for three boundaries.
When Jaiswal went after the bowling, Ruturaj Gaikwad (32 off 28 balls) watched the action from the other end. When the former did get strike for the first time in the fourth over, he used the cut shot off a Behrendorff delivery to open his account with a boundary.
Fastest to 4,000 runs (by innings taken) in Men’s T20 cricket
107 – Chris Gayle
113 – Shaun Marsh
115 – Babar Azam
116 – Devon Conway
116 – Ruturaj Gaikwad
117 – KL Rahul
Jaiswal carried on with his aggressive style, playing spinner Chris Green, who was making his debut, through the off-side for a four before hitting him for a six over the midwicket boundary.
Hardie was brought back into the attack to stop the run flow, but the move proved to be successful as Australia achieved their first breakthrough in the left-handed opener, even though Jaiswal smashed him straight down the ground for a four.
At the end of the powerplay, India reached 50 for one as Jaiswal went for one too many, failing to connect well enough and Ben McDermott completing a wonderful catch sprinting from mid-on.
Vice captain Shreyas Iyer (8) attempted to hit leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha off the ground, but he was unable to generate enough force or height, and Green caught the ball at long-on. Iyer returned to the team after a brief rest after the World Cup.
At the start of the ninth over, with India at 63 for three and the spectators at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium hushed, captain Suryakumar Yadav (1) easily edged Dwarshuis to the keeper.
However, Rinku Singh’s trademark powerful strokes helped him gain momentum right immediately, so the partisan spectators were not forced to remain silent for long.
Ruturaj was dismissed by Sangha after Rinku and him put on 48 runs for the fourth wicket. Despite this setback, Rinku continued to play his natural style of cricket and he found a willing partner in Jitesh. Together, they scored 50 runs in just 29 balls, which helped India score more runs.
To add a few more runs to his tally, Jitesh, however, fell when he was looking strong.
