Ruturaj Gaikwad becomes the fastest Indian to score 2,000 runs in IPL

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opening batsman and captain Ruturaj Gaikwad on Sunday completed 2,000 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL), becoming only the fourth player from his franchise to do so. Apart from this, he has also become the fastest Indian batsman to score 2,000 runs in IPL.

The 27-year-old player achieved this feat against arch-rivals Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Gaikwad scored 69 runs in 40 balls at a strike rate of 172.50, during which he hit five fours and five brilliant sixes.

Gaikwad has scored 2,021 runs in 58 IPL matches at an average of 39.62 and strike rate of 134.91. He has scored one century and 16 half-centuries in 57 innings, with his best score being 101*. He is the fourth-highest run-scorer for CSK in the IPL behind Faf du Plessis (2,721 runs in 92 matches), MS Dhoni (4,547 runs in 226 matches) and Suresh Raina (4,687 runs in 176 matches).

He is the fastest Indian batsman to reach this milestone in just 57 innings. Above him in this list are Chris Gayle (48 innings) and Shaun Marsh (52 innings).

Gaikwad’s best season with CSK, a franchise he has represented since his debut in 2020, was the 2021 season. That season, he scored 635 runs in 16 matches at an average of 45.35 and a strike rate of 136.26, which included one century and four fifties. He also won the ‘Orange Cap’ for most runs and his fifth IPL title for the ‘Men in Yellow’.

This season, Gaikwad has so far scored 224 runs in six matches at an average of 44.80 and a strike rate of over 130 with two half-centuries. His best score is 69, making him the seventh-highest run-scorer this season.

Talking about the match, Mumbai won the toss and gave CSK a chance to bat first.

Ajinkya Rahane (5) and Rachin Ravindra (21 runs from 16 balls, two fours and a six) could not make much impact, although captain Ruturaj Gaikwad (69 runs from 40 balls, five fours and five sixes) and Shivam Dubey (38 runs from 38 balls) CSK scored 206 runs for 4 wickets in 20 overs, thanks to the explosive innings of MS Dhoni (unbeaten 66 runs, 10 fours and two sixes) and the explosive innings of MS Dhoni (20 runs unbeaten in four balls, three sixes) in the last over. For Mumbai, Hardik Pandya took 2 wickets, Shreyas Gopal and Gerald Coetzee took one wicket each.

Mumbai team, chasing the target, got off to a great start, Ishan Kishan (23 runs in 15 balls, three fours, one six) and Rohit Sharma added 70 runs for the first wicket. Rohit was successful in scoring his second IPL century, but apart from Tilak Verma (31 runs), Rohit did not get support from any other batsman and Mumbai team could only score 186 runs for 6 wickets in 20 overs and lost the match by 20 runs. .

Mathisha Pathirana (4/28) was the best bowler for CSK. Mustafizur Rahman and Tushar Deshpande also got 1-1 wicket.