IPL 2020: Ruturaj Gaikwad’s turnaround is one of the best stories of the tournament

Even though the Chennai Super Kings failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in IPL history, the Men in Yellow have managed to onboard a young promising player in Ruturaj Gaikwad this season.

Ruturaj Gaikwad became the first-ever player from CSK to score three consecutive fifties in IPL. The knock against KKR and KXIP in their last two matches proved that his half-century against RCB last week was not a flash in the pan.

After enduring a horrible start to the tournament, Gaikwad turned things around quite dramatically as he showed great poise and temperament to excel in the IPL.

Ruturaj Gaikwad was asked to bat in the middle order on a few occasions, which is not his usual position. He struggled to find any kind of rhythm and was looking clueless, which led to plenty of criticism about his ability at this level.

The player was finally provided with an opportunity to open the innings against the Mumbai Indians in their return encounter but failed to cope with the swing of Trent Boult and fell in the first over without scoring. But the 23-year-old right-hander has managed to silence all the critics with match-winning knocks.

CSK skipper MS Dhoni went on to praise the youngster after the win against Kolkata Knight Riders.

"He's one of the most talented players going around. What makes it difficult is he's not somebody who speaks a lot! So sometimes it becomes difficult for the management to gauge a player," said Dhoni.

Gaikwad stamped his authority on the game against KKR

Ruturaj Gaikwad was up against a KKR side that had 3 international bowlers in Pat Cummins, Lockie Fergusson, and Sunil Narine and one bowler who has been picked in the Indian side to tour Australia next month in Varun Chakravarthy.

The right-hander showed his full range against all three bowlers. Ruturaj Gaikwad was severe on anything that was pitched up by the fast bowlers as he effortlessly stroked them over the field. The way he pulled the short deliveries in front of square suggested that he was very confident against good pace.

Another notable shot during Gaikwad's innings came in the final over of the powerplay bowled by Chakravarthy. Gaikwad danced down the track and the spinner adjusted beautifully by pulling the length back. Gaikwad went through with the stroke and timed it so well that it cleared the long-off boundary quite comfortably.

In their last league game against Kings XI Punjab, Ruturaj Gaikwad batted in a very mature fashion to see his team through without any fuss. The calmness with which he went about scoring a 49-ball 62 is rarely seen in the performances of young players these days.

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IPL 2020 is all about unsung heroes

From Rahul Tewatia to Devdutt Padikkal and now Ruturaj Gaikwad, this season’s IPL has brought some unlikely young heroes into the spotlight, which is a very good sign for Indian cricket.

From contracting COVID-19 to struggling to even put bat to ball in the initial stages of the tournament, Ruturaj Gaikwad’s turnaround to score three consecutive half-centuries has to be one of the most compelling stories of IPL 2020. Ruturaj Gaikwad credited captain cool MS Dhoni for guiding him in this year's IPL.

”It feels good and I'm, pretty confident as well. I have backed myself. Both the innings when I got out early, I knew the situation was a little tough. COVID-19 has made me tough. As our captain says, face every situation with a smile. I stayed positive and didn’t think much about the future,” Ruturaj Gaikwad said after receiving the Man of the Match award for his 53-ball 72 against KKR," said Gaikwad.