Chennai Super Kings (CSK) team members celebrate lifting their 4th IPL trophy after beating Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 27 runs in the IPL 2021 final, at the Dubai International Stadium. (ANI )


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Chennai Super Kings (CSK) team members celebrate lifting their 4th IPL trophy after beating Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 27 runs in the IPL 2021 final, at the Dubai International Stadium. (ANI )

Ruturaj Gaikwad is in the form of his life and knocking on selectors’ door for a place in the Indian team. The 24-year-old Maharashtra opener slammed his third consecutive hundred in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021-22 at the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground, Rajkot. He now has 414 runs from three matches in the ongoing tournament, needing 414 more to surpass Prithvi Shaw’s tally of most runs in a single Vijay Hazare season.

Earlier this week, Ruturaj had notched up centuries against Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, helping his side win both the matches. He scored 136 versus Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday and notched up 154* against Chattisgarh a day later. The right-hander is currently the leading run-scorer in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, with Maharashtra topping the Group D table with eight points.

The Orange Cap winner of the recent edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Ruturaj was named the captain of Maharashtra ahead of the Vijay Hazare tournament. He was also in splendid touch in the recently-concluded season of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scoring 259 runs in five outings at an average of over 60.

A record-breaking IPL season with Chennai also led to Ruturaj being retained by the four-time champions. The defending champions retained Ravindra Jadeja (16 crores), MS Dhoni (12 crores), Moeen Ali (8 crores), and Gaikwad (6 crores) ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auctions.

Opening the batting for the Chennai outfit in IPL 2021, Ruturaj slammed 635 runs in 16 matches en route to the Orange Cap. He also became the youngest player in the history of the Indian Premier League to receive the honour.

Ruturaj now being a key part of the Chennai setup, fans of the franchise were quick to praise his blistering form with the bat. While a few backed him to make it to India’s squad for South Africa tour, some hailed him as MS Dhoni’s successor at the Yellow Army. CSK also lauded their star opener by tweeting, “Wake Up. Pad Up. ROAR. RUTeen Status.”

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